


How to Love

by d6dreams (staticfiction)



Category: Day6 (Band)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Forced Cohabitation, Mild Angst, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-16 10:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 53,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21269618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/staticfiction/pseuds/d6dreams
Summary: Sungjin’s life is simple. He wakes up, broods, works at the vineyard sun up to sundown, glowers at the nosey farm folk, then retires for the night. He has neither time nor inclination for romance, but he does need the image of it to maintain his place at the family friendly village he means to make his permanent home. Conveniently, he has a photograph of a girl he’s never met. Just add a ring on his finger and, poof, instant wife.But then the girl—woman—in the photo walks into the vineyard, live in the flesh, lovely as anything if not entirely innocent and honourable in her intentions. She’s willing to play the part of a doting wife, but it’s Sungjin who soon finds he’s the one having difficulty pretending he is less than a devoted husband.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I know nothing about grapes or vineyards or farming. I did take a couple of semesters of botany, plant taxonomy, and plant physiology, for what its worth.
> 
> It's all made up.
> 
> The laws of Physics don't matter.

There was nothing in the world more enchanting than an ashy vine lovingly curved around a trellis, its sensuous lines trained to a vertical hedgerow with fresh leaves the vibrant green of winter passing and spring rising and open like palms raised to the sun in veneration. Winter had been a time of quiet beauty, of vines laying dormant and storing nutrients and energy for the coming year’s harvest. Spring was a time for the sap to rise and the buds to swell from the carefully cut shoots. The trunk that had shrivelled up had shaken off the last of the frost was now sprouting new spurs. By the end of summer the would be tangled mass of vines would be heavy with clusters of grapes. Deep purple globules, plump and shiny, contrasting with the greens and yellows and the browns of the leaves.

Sungjin need not close his eyes to feel the crunch of the skin and the burst of sweetness into his mouth. But the end of summer was a long ways ahead. For now, he stood sentinel in the crisp morning, pruning and trimming the vines as the day required. Grapevines, by nature, required time and attention and Sungjin was nothing but patient and devoted.

Sungjin sat down to his haunches and ran his hand lovingly down the side of the main trunk. “Did you sleep well through the winter?”

He had spent the previous season guarding and protecting the vineyard from the dry frost that had blanketed the sleepy village. Day in and day out, he worked the hedgerows checking for damage and putting up tarps and stakes where needed. As soon as the season shifted, so did his daily tasks. For years, this was his life. This was the only life he could see himself living even in the years ahead.

“It might be a tough year you’re waking up to,” he said, patting the trunk reassuringly, “but we’ll survive the one, too. Won’t we? I got you. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Boss!”

Sungjin looked up at the sound of Dowoon’s voice and his running footsteps through the field. He pushed himself back up to stand, groaning as he felt his age. He was only a year over thirty, but there were days he honestly felt like he was past seventy. Dowoon sprinting frantically through the vineyard added a couple more years into his wear and tear.

“No running through the hedgerows,” he grunted as Dowoon skidded to a halt in front of him.

“Sorry boss,” Dowoon huffed, catching his breath.

“What are you running around for?” Sungjin pulled off his gloves and shoved them into the pocket of his cargo pants. “I told you, you can come in after your errands with Mrs. Choi.”

Dowoon’s face pinched into something that was a cross between panic and urgency. “The village chief wants you to come down to the town square immediately. Like, right now.”

“What does Mr. Jinyoung want now?” Despite Dowoon’s harried tone, Sungjin did not feel the need to come in a hurry. If anything, he felt dread swirl nebulously inside his gut. Jinyoung Park was an important man in the village. Apart from being the town leader he was also responsible for what economic growth their small, hardly a second glance at the map, locale had been seeing these past few years. True, most of the land was farmlands and vineyards, but it was also exactly just that. Farmlands and vineyards too far out in the countryside.

“He says it’s important,” Dowoon answered, leaning toward the direction of the town square as though he were coaxing Sungjin into sprinting all the way there. “Very important.”

“What could be so important?” Sungjin mused out loud. There was one reason that stood out in Sungjin’s mind, and it was enough for his life to flash before his eyes.

“There’s someone to see you.” Dowoon walked a few steps forward and beckoned at Sungjin to keep pace. “It’s very important. You have to go.”

Sungjin clenched his jaw and followed Dowoon out of the hedgerows and into the dirt road. “Did he say who?”

Dowoon shook his head. “He really didn’t say…It’s…it’s a woman.”

Sungjin was decidedly not one for mysteries. “Does this woman have a name? What does she look like?”

Dowoon answered on an exhale. “Ah, I was told it’s really best you just come. But, boss, she really is so pretty.”

“Who is?”

Dowoon grimaced as though he said too much. “Mr. Jinyoung said you have to see for yourself.”

That did not bode well for Sungjin, and he took a deep calming breath. The walk to the town square was a good fifteen minutes on a brisk pace and he used the time well to rehearse his introduction and his defense. The vineyard he was caring for belonged to the old man who took him in almost a decade ago, and though it’s been three years since the old man has passed, none of the relatives had come forth to claim the title or contest the succession. Sungjin had legal ownership of the property.

Or it could a land agent. The thought settled somewhat better in his stomach. Those were always hanging around their property. The kind who worked for businessmen and tycoons looking to build luxury resorts and spas and whatever. But for one to be so important that their village leader had to call for him worried Sungjin just as well. These were family owned lands, passed down from generation to generation. It was such a small, close-knit neighbourhood, people have been living next to each other for lifetimes.

If not for the old man, Sungjin would not have been welcomed so easily.

The best he could do now was gently refuse any and all amounts of money. There were far more important things than fortune. Like principles. Community. Peace of mind.

A small crowd was gathered a few paces away from the edge of the town square. One of the disadvantages of living here was how fast the news travelled. It wasn’t even difficult to trace. Someone’s grandmother. Someone’s hairdresser. The uncle who sell fruitsdown the road. Literal gossip through the grapevines.

Mrs. Choi joined him as he reached the intersection that opened up to the main square. Her family owned a few plots of land that grew watermelons and other vegetables. Sometimes they employed Dowoon to do their deliveries to and from downtown for them. An aside, she had been trying for years to set him up with her granddaughters. “I almost didn’t believe it at first,” she said, dramatically pressing her hand to her chest. “I can’t believe it even after I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

Sungjin bowed politely, not knowing how else he was supposed to react.

“At last,” sighed Mrs. Ok, appearing at his side. Mrs. Ok, like Mrs. Choi, had also once been on a mission to set him up with her daughters. “At last, the time has come.”

“I really shouldn’t keep the town leader waiting.” Sungjin excused himself from the two ladies and walked ahead.

Once he reached the main square, Jinyoung Park himself came out to meet him. “Are you calm?”

“Of course, I’m calm,” Sungjin answered warily. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Sungjin searched the square, but the massive tree that was the main centrepiece to the main recreation and meeting area was blocking his view. He had been calm until the question, and his eyes bounced around the bamboo daybeds and stone tables until he settled his focus on their town leader to glean for clues.

“Well,” Jinyoung began. Their town leader was usually a calm man. He was often described to have the slight eccentricity of an artist, and Jinyoung Park fancied himself an artist. A performer. “Well, I suppose there’s really only one thing left to do here.”

Sungjin stepped deeper into the square with slow deliberate steps. He squared his shoulders and held his chin up high. Whatever and whoever this woman was, Sungjin would not be easily swayed.

As soon as he saw her, however, his resolve was tested.

This wasn’t simply any woman.

This was _the_ woman.

Sungjin followed the gentle lines of her body, the slope of her legs, the curve of her waist, the prim set of her arms, and the elegant tilt of her chin. Her dark hair was short and neatly tied back in a low ponytail, with her fringe framing her face. She wore simple traveling clothes, classy sneakers, comfortable but figure hugging jeans and a light violet sweater; next to her feet was her luggage. Sungjin begged his eyes not to stare.

It was a losing battle.

Sungjin needed a moment to gather his thoughts. This wasn’t—could not have been—happening. Hers was a face he had not expected to see, but that was besides the point. She would have knocked the breath out of him anyway.

Then she stepped forward, and forward still until he could smell the faint scent of flowers and citrus—her perfume? Her shampoo? Her lips were set int a firm line—he would not think of her lips or that they were pink like ripe peaches for the taking. But it was her eyes that arrested him on the spot. Dark eyes, piercing and intelligent. They were the kind of eyes that made him think of summer night skies and the ocean after twilight. She inclined her head at him and lifted a brow. In challenge.

Sungjin had no choice but to meet her gaze. It was not a good feeling.

“Hello,” she said.

Her voice was the worst part, yet. Cool and airy, with that city accent that was smooth as it was unattainable. It made her words feel further away, like he had to reach to find meaning.

“Hello.” With one word, he was all too conscious of his own Busan satoori, one that had remained no matter the years he spent this far out. One that made him stick out like a sore thumb until Dowoon arrived.

“It’s me.”

Sungjin tried not to watch too closely the way her mouth formed the words. “It’s you.”

It really was her. Live in the flesh. He may have not spared more than a passing thought of her, but over the years she had given him everything—a home, an income, and work he was in love with. Most of all, she gave him what he had needed to establish himself in this careful, family-oriented town. That she eased the pressure on him from the matchmaking matrons was a bonus.

And she had done it all without even once knowing he even existed.

“You do recognize me, don’t you?”

Sungjin swallowed the painful lump in his throat. “Y-yeah…”

He had a picture of her in the old house—his house now, he supposed—bright and young on the day of her high school graduation. She was a fully grown woman now. Not that Sungjin had noticed.

Sungjin decided he was not going to notice anything more about her.

Starting right now.

“It’s me, Vini.”

“Vini.” That was her name. He had known her by a different name, but Vini suited her. It rolled deliciously on his tongue though he had no right to speak her name with such familiarity.

She took another maddening step closer. “Your wife.”

The ring on Sungjin’s finger seemed to burn with the way he felt it hot and constricting against his skin. He crushed the urge to pull the wedding band off and throw it away never to be found again. Instead, he focused on finding the words to explain himself.

The deceit had not weighed on his conscience simply because the subject of his wife had not been broached by the general public ever since the word had spread that he had lost her somehow. While Sungjin had no active participation in the sequence of events that lead him to admitting to a marriage, of all things, he had been complicit in allowing the lie to persist.

As far as this sleepy town was concerned, Sungjin Park was a married man. Everyone had their theories, and he neither confirmed nor denied any which one of them. And when news of his loss had circulated, Sungjin focused all his energies on the vineyard in the guise of mourning.

And now, standing before him, was this beautiful woman who was not his wife yet it was her face everyone knew.

“This is quite the welcome,” she said, her lips pulling into a sweet smile.

“The what?”

“Is that really the way you should be greeting me?” She licked her lips. “After all this time?”

And that was how he knew. She knew, of course, that he was lying. Had been lying. Sungjin couldn’t breathe all of a sudden. The world became a violent blur of colours and sounds. “After all this time?”

“I’ve come back. To you.”

“B-back…to…to me…”

“Yes. To you.”

“You…”

“I am not dead, as you can see.” Her gaze never once left his. “Touch me and see for yourself.”

No.

There would be no touching at all whatsoever.

Not that Vini couldn’t have been alive, either. Truth be told, Sungjin would have had no way of truly knowing but that was besides the point. The point was this woman was not supposed to be here. Here. In the countryside more often than not forgotten on the map.

Everything was going all wrong.

Sungjin released his breath slowly.

And then he wasn’t breathing at all.

Vini reached for his hand, curving her soft, delicate fingers around his rough, calloused ones, and pressed his hand firmly against her chest. A silly, instinctive, thrill shot through him. Sungjin hadn’t touched a woman, hands or otherwise, in years.

And now he was touching her. Intimately. He could feel the warmth of her, the softness of her, and the steady beating of her heart. Vini’s hand was small compared to his. They were hands that had not seen work, with slender fingers that tapered at the tips. Meanwhile his hands were work-hewn and scarred. The difference between them could not have been more apparent.

Sungjin felt very shabby in his old shirt and plaids.

“I’m here, my darling,” she said. But there was no tenderness to the endearment she had chosen. “I’ve come home to you, Sungjin.”


	2. Chapter 2

The last thing Vini expected to find here was a husband.

She’d hoped for distance, she’d hoped for quiet, and she’d hoped for peace, but not this. This was the stuff of fiction. If she weren’t living it, she would have sat herself down and started plotting her next book. Or anyway, in her head she would. At the moment, she was running on empty and she didn’t have the energy to do anything else but mentally shake her head at the absurdity of it all.

A _husband_.

_Her_ husband, apparently.

At first she thought these village folk were simply hospitable and kind, welcoming her so warmly the minute she set foot into this sleepy town. Then it occurred to her that perhaps they recognised her. After all, the reason she came all the way here was because she had a late grand uncle who owned a vineyard. She was family. Estranged, but family nonetheless.

But, no.

So this was the man who had claimed she was his wife.

She squeezed his hand and he sucked in a breath, the color returning to his cheeks and climbing to his ears. Just as well, she needed to be reminded to breathe too. He stared at her with that deer-in-the-headlights look about him, his wide dark eyes planted firmly upon her as though he couldn’t believe she stood there before him, his large hand pressed against her breastbone.

To be fair, she would be out of it too, if the very person she had lied about for who knows how long suddenly showed up out of the blue one morning. Also:

Surprised.

Shocked.

Maybe a little scared.

When she’d been herded out in a rush, unable to speak or react, the worst of her imagination had taken root. Most persistent was the fear that the man who had claimed her as his wife would be…well she really did not know what sort of person would invent a wife, there were all sorts of creeps after all. The least she hoped for that he wasn’t cruel.

Vini didn’t expect someone so…

…what was the word she was looking for?

Past the ill-fitting cargo pants and the worn-out plaids and the muddy work shoes, he—Sungjin—wasn’t so horrible looking. He stood tall, tan, and solid with broad shoulders and wide chest. His hair was in his face, too long that the ends fell past his ears and his bangs tickled the tip of his nose—a nose so tall and straight and perfectly crafted it could have come out of a book hero. The man a veritable assault of virility. But it was his eyes, the color and depth of grounded earth, that gave her an odd, albeit misplaced, sense of comfort.

Or perhaps, travelling the entire night, sitting uncomfortably in a bus then a train, unable to find sleep or rest has her brain all addled up. It was the only explanation why she stood here like this. Her curiosity, bless her fatal flaw, had gotten the best of her. Again.

“W-what…” Sungjin breathed, retracting his hand and staring at his palm. “What’s going on?”

Vini would like to know as well. “You tell me,” she whispered, conscious of the mass of spectators gathering around the square. They seem to have multiplied since she arrived. “You owe me that much.”

“I…” Sungjin licked his lips nervously, a move that brought her attention to his mouth and his lips, details she would have rather not paid attention to. His eyes darted around them in a panic. “We can’t talk here. Follow me.”

He turned on his heel and checked behind him to see if she was following him. Vini had just managed to grab her backpack and her carry-on, still debating with herself if she should move to some other location to be alone with a strange man. But Sungjin had a point.One he made succinctly when he grabbed her luggage, lifting it off its wheels to carry it in one hand, while his other hand came to hers and tugged her in the direction of who knows where.

Sungjin was strong, somehow she got that the moment she saw him, but her hand in his hand felt nothing but the cradle of his fingers and his rough palms. Even as he pulled her out of the square and down the dirt road, Vini only felt the subtle changes of direction and the exertion in her lungs and her legs and none of the pain she had braced herself for. Once they were a distance from the square and just as her eyes spotted the edges of the vineyard, Sungjin dropped her hand like he’d been handling hot coals.

He continued further, entering through the end of a line of hedgerows, and Vini tripped over her own feet, the uneven ground, and from the distraction of the sight of rows upon rows of dormant grapevines waking in time for spring. Finally, Sungjin slowed down as they made their way toward a wooden watch tower. He set her luggage against a post and gestured for her to climb first.

“This is where we’re going to talk?” She looked around her. They were deep in the vineyard, and every direction she looked all she saw was grapevines and more grapevines.

“No one will bother us here, and from up there we’ll see if anyone’s coming.”

Vini gripped the straps of her backpack tighter, but relented. Sungjin offered his hand to assist her up the wooden steps, but she ignored him. At least at first. Somewhere on the third step, she lost her footing, and if not for Sungjin catching her hand, she would have likely fallen on her ass to the ground.

“Careful,” he muttered softly, lifting her by the hand and all the way to the top.

“Thanks,” she said, pulling her hand back as she reached the top. Vini made a slow circle around the watchtower. The vineyard itself was remarkable, far reaching and _alive_. Little as Vini knew about the countryside and plants or land for that matter, she understood beauty and this place was breathtaking. Perfect, if not for the thorn on her side.

“What are you doing here?”

Slowly, she turned back toward Sungjin. “What do you mean what am I doing here? My grand uncle owns this land.”

Used to own this land? Vini wasn’t sure. Her grand uncle had been a recluse and had cut himself off from the family. Other than the crate of grapes he would send every year until her eighteenth birthday, Vini heard nothing from him until the news of his passing.

Sungjin’s jaw clenched. “You’re supposed to be in California.”

“I was.” For university. It had been years since she had returned to Seoul. He knew that she’d been away, but not that she’d returned? “Who are you?”

“My name is Sungjin,” he answered carefully.

“I don’t mean your name.” Vini had not meant to sound snippy, but she didn’t need Sungjin thinking she was soft, either. “Who are you?”

“I worked for your grand uncle.”

“Why does everyone think I’m your wife?”

Vini granted him a moment to compose himself. Sungjin paced around his side of the watchtower, as far away from her as possible. He was a lot of man, and Vini got the sense that he understood this and was careful of the space he occupied. The thought stirred the dormant parts of her, and she mercilessly shut them out.

The pause gave her a minute to think about her own plan of action. Admittedly, she didn’t think any of this through. One moment she was leaving the lobby of this fancy hotel, and the next she was on the last train out of the city. Even now she couldn’t believe she had made it out here. She felt so hollow inside, so fuzzy in the head, and just so exhausted.

“The people here,” Sungjin began, “they’re good people. Somehow they managed to put together that you and I are married. It’s”—he shook his head—“too long and too convoluted a story to tell.”

“People don’t simply come to such a conclusion without a trigger.”

Sungjin sighed in defeat. “It’s a misunderstanding.”

“And you didn’t bother to clarify such a misunderstanding?”

He didn’t answer, which had her thinking.

“Who owns the land now?”

“I do.”

She tilted her head, looked at him askance.

“The old man left it to me.”

Even if Vini could find it in her to believe that, and some part of her did, she couldn’t simply hand wave this issue away. The issue of who owned the land wasn’t what she was here for. Not really. Besides, there were other pressing concerns.

“What would happen if I were to tell everyone I’ve never even met you before? That the truth is you and I are not even acquainted, much less so married.”

The look of horror on his face was answer enough.

Vini weighed her choices. Right now, all she wanted was an escape from the city. An escape from who she was. A moment without worry or cares. This—Sungjin, the village, and the vineyard—all this was too much work than what she was capable of dealing with at the moment. She only had so much energy and patience at her current disposal, and her entire system was already on the verge of collapse.

Marriage. The word made her laugh. Or it would have if she had the presence of mind to find the thought humorous. Vini held no marital desires, much to her mother’s disproval and disappointment. Partly, her upbringing was to blame. So ingrained was the goal of seeking out a reasonably attractive, well-intentioned, and wealthy husband the mere idea of it had her reeling back from all her prospects. She refused to define her personal worth on whether or not a man wanted to marry her. Or, in this case, had lied about marrying her.

She gestured at his left hand. “Where’d you get your ring?”

“I found it.”

A lie. But Vini didn’t press the issue. “Are you married? Legally, I mean.”

“No.”

“Just fake married to me, then?”

He inhaled sharply. “Look, miss—”

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Vini. Call me Vini.”

He nodded curtly at her. “Vini—”

Desperation had brought her here. “I came here for one reason, and one reason alone.”

“The land.”

She stilled, calculating the direction of this conversation. Sungjin seemed to have made up his mind up about her. Everything was hinged on what information she revealed and on the manner of each revelation. In the long run, the vineyard might prove advantageous.

“What would happen if everyone were to know the truth about us both?”

Sungjin stepped toward the side of the watchtower to gaze softly out into the distance. The sun was high up in the sky, blanketing the vineyard in a warm bright light. The weather was deceptively cheery and kind for mid-March. “Is that what you want?”

From what little she had been able to gather, the village folk appeared to adore this man. They respected him as much as they were in love with him. He was well-known for sure, if they were gossiping about him and his love life. But more important than that, he knew this vineyard more than anyone else. Vini had use for him, as much as she hated to admit it.

“I want answers.”

Sungjin shook his head. “There was this picture of you at the house. Your grand uncle had it framed and hung on the wall. I suppose everyone thought the old man introduced us. Set us up.”

Vini held back a scoff. “That’s hardly an engagement.”

He smiled bitterly to himself and tilted his head toward her. “Look, Vini, I’m sorry I let everyone believe what they wanted to believe. But you have to know, I did care for your grand uncle. He took me in when I had nothing. I didn’t take from him or did him any harm. So if you’re going to do what I think you’re about to do, I just want this clear. Say what you will about me, but leave the old man out of this.”

Vini needed the vineyard, but not for the reasons Sungjin was insinuating. What she wanted, was a place to stay. Somewhere to disappear. This was the perfect place for that. If it came with a husband, then so be it.

Somehow she would have to manage to hold her own with a man like this.

Vini reached a decision, and her own smile caught her by surprise.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the smile that sent the chill down his spine.

This woman wanted something, and the something she wanted was definitely not him. Whatever her goal was, she was keeping it guarded close to her chest and Sungjin knew that the only way out of this mess was to find out what it was she wanted. Maybe then he could gain significant leverage against her ill intentions. Somehow he had to convince her to leave with his pride intact because there was no way he was giving up the vineyard to some city girl. Blood be damned. Sungjin did not shed his own blood, sweat, and tears just to see this land go to waste.

Her pretty face didn’t matter.

Vini wasn’t his long lost wife coming home to him. There was no miracle in their reunion, no emotions rushing, no nothing. They were strangers, not lovers. Sungjin was fairly certain he would not, under any circumstance, fall in love with her. Without a doubt, Vini would not spare a second glance at him. She was neither the sort of woman he would expect attention from, nor the kind of woman he would pay attention to. The idea of her— a wife to have and to hold—was merely that. An idea beneficial in principle but inconvenient in practice.

“If it’s the land you want, I’m not selling,” he said, finally finding his voice. Now that the initial shock had worn off, he could think straight. “Is it money you want?”

“You would buy my silence?”

The corner of her lips tugged in amusement, and he felt the loss of his dignity acutely.

Sungjin’s place in this village was all hinged on how safe and relatable he appeared to the townsfolk. When he had first arrived, he may have just been a boy but he was a danger to himself and the people around him. If not for the old man tempering him and sweating out the anger and aggression out of him, he would have been driven away by an angry mob for sure. Even now Sungjin could still see the hesitant looks and cautious gazes sent his way. Especially from the elderly. It wasn’t just him. The old man had been a recluse as well, existing on the fringes of community, tolerated but not accepted. Sungjin wanted the acceptance. He toiled day and night just to belong and earn the right to call this place home.

And now this woman was threatening to destroy everything he had worked for all because of a lie that spiralled beyond his control.

A sense of despair churned in his gut. He felt as though all these years he had spent his youth planting the seeds that made a home only to find out that what grew out of the soil were persistent weeds and wood rot.

“Can your silence be bought?”

“Everything comes with a price.” Vini set her backpack down to the floor and crossed the space between them until she stood right next to him. “What’s my silence worth to you?”

Sungjin clenched his teeth and tightened his grip on the ledge. If it were simply a matter of mortification, he could weather the embarrassment. It was punishment he would gladly take and he might even come to think he deserved it. However, if this were to become public, there would be more at risk than him looking like a fool.

Sungjin had no issue looking like a fool, but he did have concerns about being labeled a fraud. Though he had never intended to deceive the entire village and the neighbouring towns, he made no objections to clarify the status of his relationships, and later on his marriage, and so on until a name and a face had been identified. He had accepted the congratulations, the wedding gifts, and the praise and the jealousy. Later on, when the news his wife might have been lost to him, he had received their sympathy and their generosity.

And while receiving the vineyard had nothing to do with it, people believed his coming by it to be by virtue of marriage.

Everyone he knew would know he was a liar and a fake. It didn’t matter what the reasons were, silly or not. The same way the lies had taken root, so too will the talk of his deceit and it will haunt him and this vineyard and this village forever. Who would trust a man like him? The vineyard would lay to waste, abandoned by its workers and helpers, and he would lose all his clients and all his support. Sungjin could once again find himself all alone on that hurt road searching for meaning.

Panic grew in his chest.

“So you resort to blackmail.” he said, hating the way he had to tilt his head and lower his eyes to look at her standing so close to him. “This is what you’ve come here for?”

“Believe what you like, but I am not entirely heartless.”

Perhaps if they had met any other way, he might have believed that. The old man may have not made a habit of speaking about his family, and Sungjin respected the underlying pain that dictated the strained relationship between them, but he had been made to deliver a crate of grapes to Seoul on the same date every year. If the old man believed in reconciliation and redemption, Sungjin would too. With reservations. “But you have reasons.”

“Just as you have yours.”

Sungjin released a breath into the noon air. “I didn’t mean for all this to happen. I really am sorry your name is involved in this mess. It’s my mess. I’d take it back if I could.”

She blinked at him, meaningful and loaded. “You would take it back. If you could?”

“I wouldn’t hesitate to do it.” He would take it all back in a heartbeat.

Something flashed in her eyes but it was gone before Sungjin could catch it. “Then consider that you and I are as good as married.”

Sungjin opened his mouth to speak.

Closed it.

Opened it again.

Closed it again.

None of the words made sense to him.

“W..what?”

Vini inched closer, her hand dangerously close to his hand still gripping the ledge. “No need to take it back if we make it real.”

“That’s not taking it back.”

“It makes your lie a reality. It cancels out.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“Think about it. This way you can tell the story the way you want to. You can reclaim control of your narrative. You’re telling me you had no direct involvement in whatever lies these people have come to believe. Let’s say I believe that. You can make it right. You have a chance to make it right this time.”

The idea sounded preposterous at first, but Vini had a point. Maybe this was the next best thing to skirting around the lie. Sungjin could regain control of the situation and untangle the web of deceit that had him trapped in his situation. However, there was still Vini to take into consideration. He trusted the old man, and the old man seemed to favour her of all his grandnephews and grandnieces, but could Sungjin trust her?

Could he really take it all back so simply?

“You’re really going to marry me?”

She shook her head. “No need for that. At least for now. We just go on as though we already are. People seem to just take one’s word for it around here. No one thought twice to ask for proof. How did you manage to convince them about us?”

“I didn’t have to,” Sungjin admitted. “Because our relationship was a secret.”

“And then…one day we just got married?”

“And then one day we got married.”

“Just like that?”

Not quite like that, but Sungjin did not have the patience to go through years of history at his current disposal. Furthermore, he would more than gladly tell her the story if only he understood how it happened himself. As it were, he’d been a passive victim. This time, however, would be different.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “What do you want in return?”

“That’s not important right now.”

“It is if I’m marrying you.” He corrected himself. “Am married to you.”

Vini took a breath and set her eyes out to the horizon of trees and mountaintops. “I have my reasons and you have yours. This is hardly the first marriage that is based on convenience. People have been getting married for convenience ever since the entire institution had been established. But in the business of mutual benefit, you and I have good enough reasons. Reasons we don’t have to reveal to each other.”

“Are you running from the law?”

“Relax, I haven’t done anything illegal.”

“Is…is someone after you?” The thought stirred something dark inside him. He knew nothing of this woman, but the need to protect her seized at him like a vise.

“In a manner of speaking, I suppose that can be considered true from a certain perspective.”

“Vini,” he all but growled. “Is your life in danger?”

Her lips fell agape at the rawness of his voice. He thought he saw her flinch, and he hoped he only imagined it. She reached out for him, laying her hand on his arm. “Sungjin, it’s not like that. Relax. Look…I need to disappear for a while. That’s all you need to know. No one is after me. It’s nothing illegal. I just…”

She licked her lips and cast her eyes away.

Sungjin stared at her hand on his arm, wondering about that point of contact. Wondering about this woman who had appeared so unceremoniously in his life, stirring all this chaos, and flipping over the world he knew. This was the price of his complying silence.

The price of her keeping his secret.

“Just give me a few months to stay here,” she continued softly. “I play your doting wife and you play my devoted husband. Then we could part ways after that and your lie would remain intact. We could simply have fallen out of love. All that time apart…we’ve become different people. You know the story.”

Sungjin did, quite intimately.“No one will suspect the truth.”

“You mean no one will suspect that you and I have no feelings for each other?”

“Love is a lie we tell ourselves,” he said. “You said so yourself. People marry for other reasons than love.”

And Sungjin…he wouldn’t know how to love.

“No one will ever know. No one will ever suspect that you’re anything less than fond of me.”

He scoffed. “They won’t find out from me.”

“We don’t have to be anything other than what we are,” she continued, the hand still on his arm coming up and down in a gesture of comfort and reassurance. “You live your life and I live my life.”

“And your marital duties?”

She raised a brow. “My…marital duties?”

Sungjin choked on his tongue the moment the realisation dawned on him. “I—that’s not—I meant…” he spluttered, “To the vineyard. I meant to the house and the vineyard.”

“Aren’t we supposed to share the load?” The woman was teasing him, he was sure of it.

Damn it. She wasn’t supposed to tease.

And he wasn’t supposed to like it.

“If you want to live in this house, you have to act like you want to be here. That includes upkeep and working the vineyard.”

“And my _other_ marital duties?” The sunshine on her face, making her look far more charming that he would like was the real deceit of all.

Sungjin had not thought about all the other things one might do with a wife.

A lie.

But a harmless one no one else had to know about.

True, he had thought about sharing his bed. The nights had become so lonely and his sheets had been nothing but cold. Worst yet was that there was nothing he could have done about it, not when the entire region, it felt like, lauded him for being faithful and hopelessly devoted.

He cleared his throat. “There is no need for that.”

Vini bit her lip to hold back an amused smile. “Then we have an agreement?”

Sungjin could continue his work in peace. For the first time, he would have a legitimate answer when asked about his wife. He might even be able to show his face at the village square from time to time. Make friends and feel no guilt. The loneliness had crept up on him, much as he hated to acknowledge the feeling.

Most of all, he would no longer be a fraud.

“Then I, Sungjin, take you Vini, as my wife.”

“To have and to hold,” she concluded.

Sungjin could almost hear the rumble of thunder over head, but that was impossible. “For better or for worse.”

Vini laughed, and there she went stabbing at his defences.


	4. Chapter 4

It was the exhaustion, she reasoned.

What other reason could there be for that genuine laugh that burst out of her chest? Vini couldn’t even remember the last time she laughed. Or even the last time someone made her laugh.

It was all just so unfair.

Also rather unfair was the firm muscle beneath her palm. Naturally, Sungjin would have to be built according to the load of his work, but to have her hand on him like this, finding out so soon exactly what lay beneath his clothes was…It was not good. Vini dropped her hand and folded them together on top of the ledge.

She’d done it.

Somehow she had secured the next couple of months for herself. Despite her nerves, she felt a pickle of curiosity. The part of her who loved stories was dying to figure this one out. Vini felt as though she was at precipice of discovery, dizzy at the long way down but she found she didn’t care much for it.

“So this is it?” She was afraid Sungjin might ask more questions. Her side of the conversation had been vague at best, and she meant to keep it that way. “This is happening.”

This understanding wasn’t a true solution, but it was the best she could come up with given the circumstances. It came at the cost of Sungjin believing she had it in her to harm him, but maybe that was for the best too. That way there was little reason for them to grow attached to each other.

Sungjin smiled softly at her and her heart pinched. “What choice do I have?”

Silently, she promised him that the situation wouldn’t be so intolerable. This may not have been the marriage they envisioned, but it would have to do. Besides, they weren’t _really_ married. Vini figured she could use this experience for research. For the next book. If she ever came back to that.

Maybe one day.

“Boss!”

Sungjin crossed to the opposite end of the watchtower. “What is it now, Dowoon?”

A huffing Dowoon craned his head to look up at them. “There you are. I went to the house first, but you weren’t there.”

“What is it?”

“Boss, sorry to disturb you but the elders are preparing a lunch for you right now and they told me to make sure you don’t lock yourselves inside your room yet until after. So you have to go. Right now.”

Vini thought she heard Sungjin choke.

“Honestly, boss, someone should really invest in radio comms down here if they really can’t set up a cell tower for phone service. People keep making me run around.”

Vini prayed the day wouldn’t come too soon. When she found out there was no cell service here, much less a decent internet connection, overwhelming relief had washed over her in waves. This was the perfect place for her. The only reason anyone recognised her at all was because of Sungjin and not because they had seen that video of her.

Sungjin leaned his weight on the ledge, sighing so loud Vini thought he’d fall over. “We’ll be there. Thank you, Dowoon.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Dowoon bid his leave with a mock salute. “Miss Vini, a pleasure to meet you.”

Sungjin watched Dowoon scamper away before turning toward her. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I can just tell them you’re exhausted and you can stay at the house. You’ve come a long way from the city.”

Vini _was_ exhausted, but she was also terrified of falling asleep too soon. “Is that okay though? Won’t that be rude?”

Sungjin shrugged. “Consider my first task as your husband to be to protect you from gossiping aunties.”

Oh, no.

That wouldn’t do.

Her fake husband was not supposed to be funny.

“That’s very noble of you.” She didn’t miss the worry in his eyes that at any given moment she could take away everything he held near and dear. “I’ll be alright. We should…we should go. I suppose I should meet everyone and sooner is better than later.”

“There’s really no rush.”

“Better to get this over with.”

He nodded. “Let’s get your things back to the house first.”

Without prompting, Sungjin carried her backpack and her luggage for her as they made their way down to the house. The road was uneven, and Vini was thankful to be relieved of the load on her back. Even though Sungjin may have been strong, she didn’t like the feeling that was using him as a packhorse, but there wasn’t anything she could do when he seemed to have made up his mind.

“It’s right ahead,” he said, gesturing forward. “Just through this road.”

And there it was at the edge of the property. Vini had only seen pictures of her grandfather’s house. It was traditional, open and L-shaped, framing a courtyard that doubled as a recreational and dining area. Never had she felt so removed from the life she knew than at this moment that she took in the tiled roof, the wooden beams, and the sliding doors.

A scruffy white Jindo came out to greet them, tail wagging energetically, and Sungjin bent down to pat the dog behind the ears. “Baba, this is Vini. She’s the old man’s grand niece. She’ll be staying with us a while.” To her, he said, “This is Baba.”

Vini raised her had to say hi.

“Are you afraid of dogs?” Sungjin asked, gently nudging Baba behind him. “She won’t hurt you.”

“I’m alright with dogs. Just…uhm…it usually takes a while before they warm up to me.”

Sungjin laughed to himself. “That’s because they can smell intent.”

Vini opened her mouth to argue, but Sungjin was already shaking his head and walking up the house. She followed, careful around Baba as Baba was with her. The dog gave her a tentative sniff before nudging Vini’s knee with her snout. When she looked up, Sungjin was giving her a confused expression.

Vini held back a smirk. “I guess she thinks I’m okay?”

Sungjin toed off his shoes and climbed up the steps to the wooden floors. “There must be something wrong with her,” he muttered, opening a sliding door at the centre of the house and depositing her luggage inside. “Poor thing’s confused.”

Vini took off he sneakers and followed him up. “You’re just salty she likes me.”

Sungjin made a face. “You can stay here. This is your room.”

Vini peeked into the room, empty save for the bamboo mat rolled and tucked into a corner. It was…well it would have to do.

Sungjin shuffled uncomfortably in his spot. “We can go into town tomorrow for…stuff…I’ll get you some beddings later.”

“Thank you,” Vini muttered. She was absolutely speechless at the state of the room simply because there was nothing to comment on. “It’s very clean.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she barely stifled a laugh.

How awful, to be fake married to a man who could tease and be teased in return.

Sungjin cleared his throat. “We should go before they send Dowoon out here again.”

Vini sat down on the steps to put her shoes back on while Sungjin slid the door closed. He hesitated for a moment before stepping down the steps and into his shoes. She looked up at him expectantly.

“Wait here,” he said. Then he was shuffling toward the annex house to the side. After a minute or so, he came out with a worried expression on his face.

Vini stood up. “What is it?”

Sungjin raised his hand, and between his thumb and forefinger was a simple gold band.

Her wedding ring.

Right.

Sungjin closed the distance between them, standing toe to toe against her. “Just so people won’t ask questions.”

“No,” Vini breathed, “You’re absolutely right.”

Sungjin gingerly lifted her left hand, and even more carefully, ever so slowly, slipped the ring around her fourth finger. The rough pads of his fingers sent a line of electricity throughout her entire body, and Vini resisted the urge to shudder out loud. He cradled her fingers in his hand and thumbed the band once before he let her go.

  
Maybe she should have followed Sungjin’s advice and stayed at the house.

The square felt like it had the entire village population in it, and Vini felt her breaths come in shallow and shallower still as the press of people caved around her. But she was no fool, and she understood that if she were to establish herself here, hold some sense of legitimacy, she had to play the role. And well. So she smiled and hoped to remember at least someone else’s name.

Not once had Sungjin left her side, and his steady presence next to her helped calm down her anxiety, but only just so. “Thank you, Mrs. Ok,” he said, accepting the well wishes on their behalf.

Mrs. Ok was a reedy old lady with frail shoulders and busy eyes. “You look so young, Sungjin didn’t rob you right from the cradle did he?”

“I’m twenty-seven,” Vini answered, “And I was hardly a child when we met.”

Or anyway, that was the story now. For the most part she let Sungjin tell the story—that they had met through her grand uncle, and every time Sungjin came to the city to deliver her birthday grapes, they would get to know each other. Beginning with stealing glances from across the room, to finally conversing, and eventually love.

“What is it that you do that had you away for so long?” Mrs. Choi asked. Mrs Choi was a plump lady with rosy cheeks and the same busybody eyes. Both women had yet to leave Vini to her thoughts.

“I was studying in San Francisco,” Vini said. That much was truth. “And then I had to work for a while. At an office.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie either.

“We’re so glad to have you back,” Mrs. Ok enthused. “We almost thought Sungjin here was making you up.”

Vini thought she heard Sungjin’s neck vein snap as he laughed too loud. “You’re such a comedian, Mrs. Ok! Ha-ha. So funny.”

Mrs Choi leaned in to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. “We even thought you only got married because he got you pregnant!”

Vini forced a smile. “That’s not true, either,” she said, glancing at Sungjin who was pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

“The news came as such a surprise,” Mrs. Choi continued, lightly slapping Vini’s arm. “Sungjin here got married in such a hurry. He was away for a couple of weeks and then when he came back, he was married. He didn’t even have the good sense to get married here!”

Vini shot him a curious look which he avoided acknowledging.

Thank goodness for Mrs. Choi pinching his sides for impertinence. “Did you not think we would want to throw you the grandest wedding right here? And a reception?”

“Your wife deserves better than what you’ve given her,” Mrs. Ok sniffed.

“She just got back from the US and was going to report to work at once,” Sungjin reasoned, flailing away from Mrs. Ok’s slap to his arm. “We didn’t want, or have time, to wait.”

“Well,” Mrs. Choi huffed. “Now you can get married again. Properly this time!”

Vini could only hold a polite smile for so long. “We will definitely keep that in mind.”

“I can’t believe you agreed to just run off to city hall and call that a marriage,” Mrs. Ok said to her, “But then I suppose who could resist this boy?”

Sungjin scoffed playfully. “Why does everyone think I forced her? She’s the one who dragged me all the way to city hall.”

Vini glared at him from behind her smile. He was definitely going to pay for that remark at some point.

“Can’t blame the girl,” Mrs. Ok agreed, “I’ve been trying to set him up with any one of my daughters, turns out he only had eyes for you all this time. You’ve quite the man.”

“Mrs. Ok, Mrs. Choi.” The much needed interruption came, finally, in the form a bright smile and a dulcet voice. “I think Mrs. Shim mentioned something about the side dishes being stale and that the rice cakes are a little bland?”

In a rush of indignation, the two elderly ladies exited the their corner and toward the direction of the buffet spread on the centre of the square.

“Wonpil,” Sungjin said, breathing out his relief, “Perfect timing.”

“You look like you needed help,” Wonpil laughed. “Hi. We haven’t been introduced. My name is Wonpil, I’m a teacher at the elementary school.”

“I’m Vini. I’m…well I’m Vini. Is it true what you said about Mrs. Shim?”

Wonpil shrugged. “I don’t know, but I saw Mrs. Shim sniffing at the food. It’s been known to happen before, don’t worry about it. You’d think after all this time they’d settle their differences, but I guess some grudges run deep.”

Vini decided then and there she liked Wonpil already.

“You’ve made something of an entrance,” Wonpil said to her. “Not often things are stirred up around here. I feel like I should offer you my gratitude. It’s been a little boring.”

Vini shook her head. “I didn’t mean to cause such a…well, this.”

Wonpil’s gaze felt too penetrating to simply be curiosity. “It’s good to finally have you around. Everyone’s been so curious.”

Sungjin cleared his throat. “Everyone should really mind their own business.”

Wonpil laughed. “Look at it this way, maybe you’ll get all the mothers and grandmothers finally off your back. Officially. Vini, if you start receiving any weird looks, it’s from all the spurned women in this village. Some men, too. Probably. ”

“I didn’t know you were so popular,” she said to Sungjin, raising an amused brow at him.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Wonpil added. “He’s just stealing hearts left and right.”

Sungjin rolled his eyes.

“The size of your vineyard have anything to do with that?” She didn’t mean to tease. Really. It just came out.

Sungjin’s brow twitched. “I assure you, while the size of my vineyard may be impressive I have many other qualities that are just as desirable.”

Vini found herself swaying into him and caught herself at the last minute. Where did that even come from?

“That’s cute,” Wonpil mused, hugging himself. “You two are very cute.”

“What about a kiss from the couple!” Someone yelled from across the square. The idea was followed by cheers and goading, and Sungjin’s face hardened into a scowl.

“Oh, come on!” Someone else shouted happily. “Everyone’s celebrating with you!”

“Ignore them,” Sungjin muttered to her. “If you ignore them enough they’ll give up.”

“Give your wife a kiss and we’ll let you go,” said someone else. “I’m sure you’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

But Vini didn’t think they would give up so easily. “Just do it,” she said, resigning herself to her fate.

Sungjin shook his head, much to the crowd’s cheering.

Come on, Vini thought. Do your worst.

And the worst kiss was what she expected. Emotionless. Passionless. Unexciting. All the more reason to get this over with and move on. One cold kiss, and it would seal the deal. Whatever doubt was left in the village’s mind would soon fly with the wind. One kiss would be all it took. She would allow him that much.

But then everything went so very wrong and Sungjin hadn’t even kissed her yet.

He turned toward her, tilting his head at her maddeningly slow. One arm came around her waist, drawing her flush against him, and the mere rawness of the act, the ease of which he had pulled her close sent a silly, girlish, thrill down her spine. She looked up at him, at his dark eyes, daring him to kiss her with all he’s got.

The thought left her vulnerable, and her pulse raced in her throat. She dropped her eyes to his lips. Bad move. This close, his mouth was wide and inviting. And so very close. So, so very close.

So close she saw that slightest hint of a smile on his face before he inclined his head and touched his lips to hers.

Sungjin brushed his lips against her in a slow and brief pass, chaste and cautious. Somehow it was enough for the rest of the world to melt away. Her hand slid up his chest and then she was kissing him again. Warm and teasing. And then he was kissing her back, insistent and possessive.

And then it was over so soon.

Sungjin lifted his head, red rushing to face as he averted his gaze from her and the crowd of spectators giving them a hearty applause.

“You better go run away now,” Wonpil said to them, clapping his hands. “That was quite a show.”


	5. Chapter 5

He shouldn’t have kissed her.

In the first place, he wouldn’t know how. The last time he had kissed a girl felt so long ago it hardly counted as experience. It was a mistake, and he had realized it as soon as his lips touched hers. Although the nature of this mistake was less of the kiss being a risk to their charade but more that it was a risk to his wellbeing.

Sungjin had gone for a careful and chaste kiss on her mouth, but then Vini had responded with something else entirely.Something that tasted so much like yearning. Something that gave him a glimpse of some future he wasn’t quite certain of. Or perhaps it was all on him after all. His lips were the ones claiming her as though she was his, and it was his hands that had splayed on her back holding her against his chest as though it was where she ought to be. And Vini had felt so small and delicate in his arms. No, that wasn’t entirely true. He felt the shape of her against him, soft and feminine, and the way he fit into him made him think she could take him. That she could take more.

Then the guilt had sank into him and the world came back around him.

He blamed it on the years he had consciously and unconsciously conditioned himself to think of her as his wife. But he had made a mess, and no matter the threat of blackmail, somehow Sungjin would do right by Vini.

“I’m sorry about the kiss,” he said, handing her the bundle of beddings in his arms.

They had escaped and made their way home, not without raucous congratulations and laughter in their wake. Sungjin wouldn’t be hearing the end of this until harvest. If he were lucky.

“Consider it yet another one of your husbandly tasks,” she said, stepping into his space to take the beddings in his arms. “It’s just a kiss.”

As she took it, their arms brushed against each other’s and his knuckles grazed the soft fabric of her sweater as her fingertips skimmed his shirt. Just over his chest. Such a mere point of contact, not even skin on skin, and it electrified him. Suddenly, awareness coursed through him.

They were alone. In her room. Heavens knew the entire village had gone and assumed what sort of catching up Sungjin and Vini would be doing.

For the record the entire village would be gravely mistaken.

Also for the record, it wasn’t _just_ a kiss.

Not to him.

“You can rest here for a while,” Sungjin said, stepping away from Vini. “You should rest. I’ll knock on your door when it’s time for dinner.”

“What are you going to do?”

Sungjin held on to the door, ready to slide it closed. “I have some more work to do at the vineyard. Have a look around the house if you feel up to it. I’m over there. That’s my…room.” He tossed his head to the annex structure. The old man had given him his own space separate from the main house.

“Okay, then.” A pause. “Thank you.”

This woman was becoming more and more confusing. “What are you thanking me for, this was your idea.”

Vini puffed her cheeks and blew out a breath. “You seem like a good guy, so…let’s just…” She shook her head and cast her eyes down to her feet. “It’s been a long day.”

That was his cue to leave. “I’ll see you for dinner.”

  
Vini was picking at her bowl, and as much as Sungjin didn’t want to care, the rice didn’t deserve to be treated that way. “Are you not eating? You have to eat to stay alive.”

They ate outside at the courtyard, atop of the bamboo deck. Baba lay on the ground below them, lazily wagging her tail and waiting for scraps. Sungjin probably needed to give Baba a bath soon.

Vini raised her eyes. “I just don’t have much of an appetite is all.”

“You didn’t eat lunch today either.” Not that he noticed on purpose. But despite Mrs. Shim’s accusations regarding Mrs. Choi’s side dishes and Mrs. Ok’s rice cakes, the two ladies were distinguished for their home recipes. “Do you not like the food? It’s probably not what you’re used to where you’re from, but it’s good food.”

Her eyes flashed, offended at his insinuation. Good, he thought. Maybe then she would regain her appetite and eat after all.

She stabbed at her rice. “We should probably get our story straight. Just so we’re on the same page of this…” Her lips twisted. “Marriage.”

Sungjin put down his bowl of rice and stared incredulously at her. “Your grand uncle introduced us. I deliver your birthday grapes. It was love at first sight. When you came back from California, we got married. You had to work and now you’re here.”

“The timelines are all weird,” she said. “When did you start working for my grand uncle?”

“About ten, eleven, years ago?”

She did the math in her head. “That would give you one birthday delivery—How did you—”

Sungjin shrugged. A year after working at the vineyard, he was given his first big responsibility. The old man didn’t care much for driving long distances and entrusted Sungjin with the truck and the deliveries. It was Sungjin’s first taste of being depended upon to do a good job. He cherished that memory. “You were never home when I came by to send your grand uncle’s birthday gift. Even after you left, I kept delivering them to your parents’ house.”

“I remember my mother mentioning it,” she answered quietly. “After I left and moved out. I never did ask for them when I came back.”

Sungjin tried not to think too much about that. It wasn’t his place to judge her. He didn’t know—and didn’t bother finding out—what it was that had happened to their family. It was simply none of his business. Likewise, he appreciated that the old man never pried into his past either.

“These folks won’t look too deeply into it, you don’t have to worry too much about that.”

“Telling a story means making it make sense.”

“Real life seldom makes sense. You’re talking about lies.”

Vini avoided his gaze. “I know stories.”

“Are you a writer?” The firm set of her mouth made him think that she was, but that at the same time he had struck a nerve. That wasn’t his intention, and he returned the topic to where it was safe. “Don’t worry too much about the details. Memories are meant to be fuzzy. Even the best ones can be clouded with nostalgia. It’s never an exact recollection. What matters is the feeling. I saw you for the first time and thought, _ah_ this is the girl I’m going to marry someday.”

Her lips tugged into a smirk. “Who even thinks that?”

“Have you never fallen in love?”

All traces of light in her eyes faded away and she poked at her rice again. “I don’t have the energy to risk a broken heart.”

Ignoring the palpable loneliness in her voice, he turned back to his food and picked up a piece of grilled aubergine. “Anyway, the days in the countryside run differently from the city. No one ever knows what day it really is or when it was someone did that thing. Or if it was that weekend when the rains came or was it the Friday before that. Don’t get too hung up on the details. Think of it as a need to know basis sort of deal.”

Sungjin would know exactly how it was like. He often made use of the fact that days easily burred into each other around these parts. People never paying much attention to detail worked to his advantage if only because _he_ paid attention.

“Eat up. I wasn’t joking about working the vineyard.” He waited for her response, gauging her reaction to what he just asked of her. It was a risk, but Sungjin was a man on a mission. He would not defer to her, even it meant challenging her to expose him. But if he was reading this correctly, Vini needed this as much as he needed her silence.

“I know,” she muttered softly. “And I’m not against it. What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t care for the vineyard. I’m not dense. Those people who came out today, they didn’t whip out that welcoming party just out of kindness. I know they were sizing me up.”

Still, Sungjin wondered what it was Vini stood to lose if they were exposed. She was too mysterious, too quiet. “It’s not so bad, the vineyard. Maybe you’ll come to find something you even like about it.”

Truth be told, the vineyard was a hard sell even on its best days, but Sungjin had a habit of devoting himself to things that were hard to love.

“It really won’t be so bad,” he said, quietly. He shouldn’t have to put in this effort to assure her comfort and her safety, but there was something about Vini that had his senses tingling. Mentally, he bashed his head in. The woman had his future in her delicate hands,she could ruin him at any moment, and he was stumbling over his own feet allaying her concerns. “Being married to me.”

The vision of kissing her again flashed in his mind, unbidden. It was vivid fantasy of kissing her on the watchtower deep into the night, late in the summer when the vines would be heavy with grapes, and the air would be sweet and sticky.

No. No more kissing.

Vini, thankfully unaware of the turn of his thoughts, sank her spoon into her stew. “I will do my best not to be a clingy wife demanding for your affection.”

“Are you going to cling and demand for my affection?”

A small laugh bubbled from her lips. “Well, there certainly should be _some_ affection there, don’t you think? I did like you enough to marry you.”

He cocked his head and looked at her. “It would be a shame to base our entire marriage on sex.”

The expression on Vini’s face seemed to have stalled on whether she was to be embarrassed or amused. Eventually, she made a decision and shook her head. “Is that really all you can think about?”

He smiled. “I haven’t seen my wife in…three years—five or more depending on who you ask—so naturally yes, it’s all I can think about. Just ask anyone from today.”

The corner of her lips quirked. “Stop teasing.”

“You started it.”

“When did I start?”

“When you brought up the size of my vineyard.”

Vini pushed her fringe behind her ear. Despite herself, she seemed to welcome the distraction, and she looked at him from under her lashes. “And here I was just about to comment on your aubergine.”

“You laugh now,” he said, picking up a piece and setting it atop her rice, “but once you have a taste of my aubergine, you’ll be ruined for anything else. You won’t be able to help yourself.”

This was dangerous territory he was coursing, and Sungjin had to pull out before he sank in too deep. But he was trapped in this situation with Vini—a funny situation, even—she was the only person in the world to know his greatest lie and that made them strange bedfellows.

Not that he should be thinking about Vini and the word bed.

“So where _did_ you get the rings?” she asked after a while.

Sungjin should have known better than to fully enjoy their meal together. “I told you, I found it.”

“That’s convenient,” she answered, unconvinced. “I looked inside it this afternoon. After you left. The inscription inside, S.Park x S.Park, that’s just a coincidence?”

Sungjin grunted his response, pushing a spoonful of rice inside his mouth instead of an answer. “You’d be surprised how common Park is as a last name and how many people have first names that begin with the letter S.”

She was quiet again after that, and he didn’t even feel any guilt over it. Some things were just better left unknown. After they were done eating, he gathered the dishes to bring out back for washing.

“Uhm.” Vini was tiptoeing around him, and Sungjin found that he didn’t like it. “So, I noticed you didn’t have a shower stall?”

The bath was a large basin and several clay jars filled with water at the back of the house. The area was tucked at the edge of the vineyard and offered the privacy the centre square did not provide. Sungjin had no need for a full sized shower stall.

“Or indoor plumbing.”

Outdoor plumbing they did have. It wasn’t as though the toilet was a literal hole in the ground. Although it wasn’t as though the house had a toilet in the modern sense of it.

Sungjin help back a sigh. “I…I’ll take care of it.”

“I’m sure I’ll get used to it,” Vini answered. “Do you need help?”

“No.” The word came out rough, and he swallowed the thorn in his throat. “It’s alright. I’ll take care of this tonight. You should go rest.”

“Alright,” she said, “I’ll go ahead.”

“I don’t know what you were expecting when you came here,” Sungjin began, already bracing himself for her response. “But I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Vini didn’t say anything in return, and he watched her disappear into her room.


	6. Chapter 6

Sungjin was right when he said the days blurred into one another. When she first arrived, most of the vines had been been dormant, ashen, and coiled tightly within themselves, but now as she walked through the hedgerows, fresh green sprung all around her, fully awake and reaching toward the sun.

Vini and Sungjin had spent the past two weeks much unlike the vines. Where the leaves were opening up to each other, the two of them had seemingly retreated into themselves. Sungjin was out working in the vineyard by the time Vini left her room early in the morning, and he would stay out until sundown. When he wasn’t in the vineyard, he was out helping the other farmers do their yard work, or out in town for whatever business he had there. Vini had seen Baba more than she had seen her husband.

But, also, Sungjin wasn’t really her husband.

“Thank you again, Mrs. Kim,” she said, bowing politely at the old lady. There were few things more embarrassing than asking to use someone else’s bathroom but Vini got over that quickly after Sungjin first asked the nearest neighbour, Mrs. Kim, for the favour.

“It’s not a big deal at all,” said Mrs. Kim. The Kims owned a plot of watermelons aside from their own vineyard. “It can’t be easy adapting to this life like this. Sungjin says you grew up so prettily, even going abroad.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?” Vini asked instead of the burning question in her mind. What else had Sungjin said about her? But she didn’t dare broach the subject of what Sungjin thought about her. Vini had an inkling and it wasn’t pretty.

“You should go join your husband out in the vineyard,” Mrs. Kim said, her aged eyes brimming with something Vini didn’t have a word for.

Such was her life, dedicating herself to the written word but never having the right words when she needed them.

“I’ve been trying to find him, but I can’t seem to catch him.” To be fair, she wasn’t looking for him that hard. If Sungjin didn’t want to be around her, then that was his problem He can explain himself when asked. As for Vini, she could find a distraction from her own thoughts by herself.

Mrs. Kim laughed. “Dowoon can find him for you. That boy has a knack for running through the village.”

“I’ll think I’ll take a trip downtown today,” she said. Sungjin took her shopping the other week, or whatever passed off as shopping for someone like him. They’d gotten her work clothes and rubber boots and a few ore essentials for her room. She had yet to explore the town, and staying at home was making restless.

“Just follow the main road and it should be alright. This is a safe place,” Mrs. Kim assured her. “Not like where you’re from, I’m sure.”

Vini hoped for exactly that when she came here. “Thank you again, Mrs. Kim. I’ll go ahead.”

The walk downtown was a good thirty minutes, possibly more, but Vini forgot about the time the moment she entered the marketplace. The are was bustling with produce, heads of cabbage and whorls of lettuce were piled in a large mound on one side, and the brilliant rainbow of fruit and root crops laid out on mats, piled high on tin pails, and trays of greens Vini didn’t even know the names for.

“Uh, hi?” she heard from behind her. “Are you lost?”

Vini looked over her shoulder, unsure to which she was supposed to react to first: the talk, lanky guy with the too-large wireframe glasses or the fact that he spoke to her in English.

“Sorry,” he said switching back, “I thought…I thought you looked familiar.”

Her heart seized and her palms went cold and clammy.

“Sorry,” he said again. “I got it wrong. I thought, it’s the shirt. Thought you were, uh…”

“You thought correct,” Vini said in English, looking down at her alumni shirt and breathing out a sigh of relief. He didn’t recognise her. He recognised her shirt. “I just wasn’t expecting, uh, you. This.”

He laughed. “I’m Jae. Same uni system, different campus. I haven’t you around here before.”

She shook Jae’s hand, feeling an odd sense of familiarity with the guy. “I’m Vini. I guess I’m new here?”

“New here?” he laughed. “I’m with the volunteer group, we’re on an immersion program here. I’m with those girls over there.” He pointed toward the rows of small offices of clinics, legal aid, and then some. Three girls stood outside, geared comfortably in jeans but not so much that they seemed to have assimilated the local _fashion_ of florals and rubber boots. “That’s Jamie, Ayeon, and Hyerim. Are you, like, a visitor or something?”

“I…live here,” Vini answered, letting the thought sink into her own brain. “I live here now.”

“Oh, cool. Like with relatives?”

“Like…with my husband?”

“Husband? You don’t sound sure.”

She laughed. Nervously.

“Wait,” he said, raising a hand as the idea occurred to him. “Are you Sungjin’s wife?”

Oh, yeah. Vini wasn’t going to get used to that any time soon. “Yes. That is me. I am…Sungjin’s…wife…”

“Oh, cool. Nice to meet you. We heard the aunties threw you some kind of party. Too bad we missed it. We were stuck at the university labs.”

She had heard there was a nearby agricultural university here, but that was about it. Jae and his friends looked old enough to no longer be students, but maybe the grad school had use for them. “You know Sungjin?”

“Yeah,” Jae enthused, “everyone knows Sungjin. Actually, we’re on the way to your vineyard now.”

“Really.”

“Yeah, after the girls get some coffee and my antihistamines. I’m allergic to the sun, among other things.”

“You have coffee here?” Her head swivelled around her. Vini needed her fix. “Sorry! I’m sorry about your allergies.”

Jae shook his head. “Nah, that’s my life. We source some coffee beans from this guy who stops by here sometimes and we get the beans ground up and then it’s all manual labor, but you gotta do what you gotta do, I guess. They like it. Makes them feel fulfilled.”

The girls made their way to them carrying a bag of fresh ground beans. Vini could smell the bittersweet odour and she felt her veins come to life from just that. They exchanged introductions and, after Jae got his meds, they walked back to the vineyard. None of them seemed to have recognised her yet, but Vini found that she couldn’t fully relax until she was absolutely certain.

This group seemed to be content discussing the rest of the week, and Vini listened quietly, grateful for the white noise. From what she could glean, Jae and his friends have been here at the beginning of March, first as volunteers to teach the kids English and other communication skills, and they’re staying on and off until the end of harvest.

“Hey, Professor!” Jae yelled as soon as they breached the vineyard. “Look what we got you.”

Sungjin looked up from the vine he was pruning to scowl at his visitors. And at her, too. Of course. “Go help Dowoon over there,” Sungjin said, gesturing at the far side of hedgerows.

“Gotcha.” Jae sent him a mock salute. “See you later, Vini.”

She watched Jae pull out a large straw hat from Hyerim’s bag and he put it on as they walked deeper into the vineyard to find Dowoon. Vini stood rooted to the spot, not quite sure what she was supposed to do now. It was already past lunch. Maybe she could check to see if there was any washing to do at the house.

“Did he just call your professor?” she asked, making her way to Sungjin. Maybe he didn’t want to see her or even look at her, but that was all the more reason Vini wanted to annoy him with her presence.

“Is that was he said?”

“Why would he call you professor?”

He shrugged. “Because he’s a weird guy?”

“_Are_ you a professor?”

He scoffed. “Do I look like a professor to you? What are you doing here?”

“I…live here.”

Sungjin rolled his eyes. “Did you need anything?”

Vini shook her head. “I thought you said I needed to help with the vineyard.”

His face soured at the thought and he glanced behind him. “I guess I can show you around now.”

“Don’t make it sound like such a chore. This way you have an extra pair of hands to help.” And she really couldn’t stand the silence of the house. Silence made her thoughts too loud, and she desperately needed a way out of her mind.

Sungjin relented, nonetheless, and he toured her around, talking about the seasonal changes and the daily responsibilities up until the time was right for picking the ripe grapes. As he spoke, Vini couldn’t help but be mesmerised by the intensity in his voice, the sparkle in his eyes, and even his expressive hand gestures. Sungjin may have been an indifferent husband, but he was definitely a passionate farmer.

“This is the very first trunk your grand uncle planted here,” he said, crouching down to meet the vine at eye level. The trunk was supported on one side by a wooden trellis and its vines expanded outward like arms reaching out to embrace the whole vineyard. “It’s the oldest trunk, at least fifty years old. It’s connected to all the other vines, and the cuttings from this one has birthed entire hedgerows. It’s literally the grandpa vine.”

The way he spoke about the vine, so gently and so softly, had Vini coming down on her knees next to him.

“These vines, they need time and attention. You can’t just decide to come here and then give up halfway.”

“Is that what you think of me?” All the security of the world she had behind left her sheltered and spoiled, and she knew this about herself. Vini was not to out of touch with reality that she didn’t recognise her own flaws. In fact, she was all too well acquainted with her aforementioned flaws. She’d heard the whole encyclopaedia of it, in fact.

Sungjin refused to meet her gaze, instead he set his eyes on the vine. “Your grand uncle laboured over this vineyard, giving it everything he’s got through the good years and the bad years. The old man was stubborn. I need you to understand the kind of work that goes into this.”

Just that he thought her incapable sent her blood bubbling. “I _can_ do it.”

“You can wake up every morning before sunrise? Stay out in the sun all day? It’ll be muddy and dirty. You’re going to hurt your hands. Everything will hurt.”

“You’re trying to freak me out.”

“I’m telling you what you need to know.”

Vini didn’t have the mental load to uproot herself once again and start anew. Not even to tell the truth of their situation. There would be too much backlash, and she didn’t want to—couldn’t—deal with all that. It was easier to pretend to be Sungjin’s wife and distract herself with manual labor than to face the truth.

“Then teach me properly,” she said. “I am your wife now.”

He grit his teeth at the word.

But whatever else meant to follow had to wait. Sungjin looked up first, pushing hime to get up, making old grandpa noises as he did, to search for why there was sudden cheering somewhere further down.

“Mr. JYP!” Jae’s voice carried through the grapevines. “So nice of you to visit.”

“I came to se how our volunteers are doing.”

Vini followed Sungjin toward the end of the row. Their town leader held a large basket in his arms, smiling cheerily at them. Even JYP dressed in floral pants and a loose work shirt.

“I think it’s time for a break, don’t you think? I’ve brought some kimbab, let’s go up the watchtower and enjoy these, shall we?”

They sat in a circle, Vini next to Sungjin and the volunteers and Dowoon in a semi circle in front of them. JYP sat to her right, distributing the rolls. The other workers sat on the wooden benches underneath the tower where it was cool and shady.

“How have you been doing so far?” JYP asked, exuding a strange paternal energy.

Vini tried not to laugh at the sight of the town leader herding a bunch of kids with grown up faces around the farms.

“Is it true there are ghosts out here?” Jae asked, accepting a roll and checking the insides.

“And where did you hear that?” Jamie shot back. “But are there ghosts here? I need to know. For science.”

“There are all sorts out here,” JYP answered thoughtfully, “But you know, there used this be myth about how harvest is always sweet when there are lovers in the vineyard.”

Vini tried not to choke on her tongue.

“It’s been a bad couple of years,” JYP muttered. “The grapes are sweet and yield hasn’t suffered, but I remember when they were sweeter. Maybe this time it will be sweeter.”

Vini turned away from JYP’s meaningful stare, and Sungjin grunted into his roll but said nothing else.

“Grapevines are all about love and devotion,” JYP continued, gazing off dramatically into the distance. “It’s such a wonderful concept.”

Jae tilted his head. “I thought it was about lust and debauchery.”

Jamie shoved his shoulder. “What kind of myths are you into?”

“Dionysus,” Jae said, rubbing his arm. “You don’t know Dionysus?”

“Maybe this year’s harvest will be sweet,” Hyerim offered, providing the necessary break from the other two’s bickering. The glance Hyerim sent to her side might have been easily missed by anyone else, but not Vini.

“That’s just a myth,” Sungjin said, pushing a roll into his mouth and chewing aggressively. “There are other factors you have to think about when it comes to produce.”

“I think it’s romantic,” Hyerim mused out loud. “I can’t wait for harvest.”

Across Vini, Dowoon simply nodded to what everyone was saying.

It was just a story, Vini thought, but stories always fascinated her. There was a story here, in this vineyard. She didn’t know what it was yet, but she hoped one day to figure it out.


	7. Chapter 7

“Husband.”

“Wife.”

They passed the next two weeks like this, from sunrise to sunset, they worked companionably around each other, forming habits as they learned each other’s routines. Vini called him “Husband” around the aunties and the uncles, and Sungjin called her “Wife” because he needed the reminder of who she was and what she stood for.

It was terrible.

Calling her “Wife” was not the reminder he needed that he had to continue pretending to be her husband because of the threat of scandal. They had both been compelled to accept each other, but sometimes when the sun was high in the sky and the light filtered just right through the overhead vines, Vini almost looked liked she wanted to be here.

In this vineyard.

In his world.

In his life.

To everyone else, it all seemed like clockwork.

Sungjin felt the prickle of interest despite himself. Every conversation, every joke, every teasing remark sent another charged streakthrough him. Then there were the averted glances and the blushes. This, however, he blamed on the years he had been alone. He was simply unaccustomed to having someone around constantly. Sungjin acknowledged how unfamiliar he was with affection that the slightest hint of it, regardless if it were the wrong kind, overstretched the restraint he practiced. Not once had he felt settled in the days they had spent together.

And the more Vini unsettled him, the more he threw himself into the work. Found more and more work to do as the days went by.

“My husband.”

This time he looked up from his weeding to meet Vini’s curious eyes upon him. “Yes, my wife?”

Her lips quirked at the endearment. “Was it bad?”

“Was what bad?”

She inched closer to him, and Sungjin could only hold his ground so much before giving into the urge to crab-walk away from her. Vini was whispering so close to him, her words thundered against his skin. “What the oldies are saying. That the past couple of seasons were bad. That it’s getting worse.”

The vineyard had been seeing a decline since the old man had passed. Sungjin didn’t quite have the same touch, though he tried and he tried and he studied and he studied. There was a level of instinct that remained elusive to him. Something the old man liked to call magic. Sungjin didn’t know how one could gain such magic, if there were such a thing as magic at all. All he could do it work day in and day out and hope his efforts would be enough. That he could be enough.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with things like that,” he said. He couldn’t allow himself to be affected by her. _She is not your wife_, he reminded himself. If anything, Vini was holding him hostage.

“You keep shutting me out,” she murmured, “Why do you keep doing that?”

Because letting Vini in would be the worst decision he could ever make. Because maybe the reason the vineyard wasn’t doing well was because it was his fault. That maybe it wasn’t that he was shutting her out, but that there was nothing good there to see at all. So he stood up to his full height, squared his shoulders, and glowered at her. Then he walked away.

“Wait,” she called out after him. “Where are you going?”

He stopped just enough to answer, “I thought you said you weren’t going to be the kind of wife that clings and demands for affection?”

He thought her chin quivered, but he couldn’t let his stoic mask drop.

“You know what?” she said, turning back to her pruning. “Whatever. I don’t care.”

  
Baba was watching him with a disappointed look in her eyes.

“I know, I know,” he said, hauling another pile of wooden planks across the backyard. “I know, you don’t have to keep reminding me.”

The dog sat prettily on the deck, her front paws crossed in front of her as her beady eyes followed Sungjin’s movements.

“I told you not to get too attached to her, didn’t I?” Sungjin levelled Baba with an accusing stare. “She’s horrible. She’s blackmailing me, the vineyard, and you too.”

He had sawed and hammered away throughout the early morning and throughout the afternoon, and by the time nightfall arrived, he had the blue tarp over his latest project. Vini would be back from the vineyard soon. Despite his doubts about her, she had worked will with the other aunties and with Dowoon, and she hadn’t complained about the work. At least not more than the usual amount. Even his muscles ached every now and then, and Vini stopping to massage her shoulders and groan in pain was nothing to be mad about.

He would have preferred that she whined about everything, but despite her being so out of her element, Vini was beginning to get more and more used to living out here. Which made him think:

What could possibly have made her run off from the life she had left and into this?

“Why am I even doing this?” he huffed, planting his hands on his hips. “It’s not like she’s staying forever. Forever is a really long time.”

Baba hid her face behind her paws.

“Maybe this is a horrible idea.” And yet, he couldn’t wait to show her.

“What’s a horrible idea?” Vini appeared from the entrance to the kitchen, the rice pot already in her arms. “I’m sorry, I know you already taught me how to do this but I really can’t make rice manually. One day, I swear, I’ll get the hang of this.” She stopped in her tracks to pointedly look at the blue tarp. “What have you been doing out here all day? Seriously, I have no idea what to tell the aunties when they look for you.”

Sungjin took the rice pot from her, it was ready to be put on the open fire but the rice can wait for a little longer. He set the steel pot down on top of one of the covered clay jars. “Come here.”

“This isn’t where you’re gonna hide my body after you murder me, is it?”

He sent her an exasperated look as he pulled down the tarp for his big reveal. Vini’s hands came to her face and she grinned so wide, the two days’ worth of work was nothing. He wasn’t even tired.

“Because you’re such a grapevine.” He was only sorry it took him a month before he could complete the construction of her bathroom and toilet.

She scowled at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Now you don’t have to bother other people just to take those long baths of yours.”

He really shouldn’t have said that, because now he was thinking of Vini…and baths…and he shook the thought away before yet another vivid fantasy of taking her down to the spring took root in his mind. Or maybe the could take her out to the mountains and they could camp out by the river. They wouldn’t be bothered there, and it would just the two of them and nature, doing things of the marital nature…

“How am I a grapevine? Seriously, I’m not even that wrinkly. Oh, god. Am I that wrinkly now? I put on sunscreen every morning and reapply at regular intervals—”

“Vini…”

“What does that even mean? I’m like a grapevine?”

“…Vini…”

“You can’t just say things like that and not explain what it means—”

“Vini Park.” He took her by the arms, advancing on her and closing the distance between them. He’d thought her quiet. What a scam that was.

“Don’t Vini Park me.” But she didn’t struggle, and although Sungjin should let her go now that he had her attention away from her overthinking, he found that he didn’t very much want to let her go. What was it about her that was just so infuriating?

“Are you calm now?”

She raised her hands to hold on to his upper arms. He didn’t mean to flex. It was instinct. But she noticed. He liked that she noticed.

But also, he shouldn’t let her affect him in this way.

He could never let his guard down around her. That was how he’d get in trouble. One blink would be all it took for her to ruin his life, and he had to keep reminding himself that she isn’t for him. That Vini had her secrets too.

And yet he couldn’t look away from the shy way she was looking at him now. At the sweet smile that was on her lips that he couldn’t possibly deserve. Vini leaned into him until their bodies pressed against each other, her breasts against his muscles, their breathing coming together as one.

“You made this for me?”

“Don’t go bothering Mrs. Kim anymore,” he rasped, unable to find his voice.

“I like her, though. She has a lot of stories to tell. And she has this secret stash of romance novels which she lends me and she’s awesome. Did you know she used be a nurse”— she inhaled sharply when his hands found their way around her waist—“Thank you. That’s…that’s what I supposed to say. Thank you, Sungjin. I can’t believe…”

He arched a brow at her.

“Thank you.”

He should let her go.

He should search himself for composure and presence of mind.

Instead, Sungjin acknowledged, for a change, that he wanted her to know the feel of his body against hers. That he wanted to feel the shape of her against him.

His gaze trained on her lips.

She was holding him now, just as he was holding her.

He could kiss her.

And he knew that she would let him.

Maybe that was why he tore himself away from her, cold and unfeeling. He squeezed his eyes shut and and shook some sense into himself. He picked up the paper bag next to Baba and tossed it into her hands, thankful that she caught it in her hands.

“What’s this?” She sounded both dazed and angry, and he couldn’t blame her.

_Good_, he thought. She should be angry.

“So you’ll stop complaining. It’ll get worse in the morning so…so you’ll stop…complaining about it…”

Meanwhile, Baba had completely given up on him and was judging him out in the open now.

Vini peered into the bag. “Thanks, I think.”

Sungjin cleared his throat. “Go get dinner ready. I’ll clean up here.”

Vini looked up at him, confused.

“I’ll make the rice.” He really had gone and messed it all up now. Slowly, Sungjin unclenched his fists and took a deep breath. “I—”

But his whole speech about wanting to live harmoniously and lowkey begging Vini not to alert the whole neighbourhood to his lies had to wait when they heard the sound of a car engine coming through the front of the house. A bright light flashed from the front yard, and Sungjin rushed to the front, making sure Vini stayed behind him.

Sungjin has only known his—formerly the old man’s—beat up red truck all his life, but he had a vague idea of cars, and this one was a luxury vehicle, exactly the kind he wouldn’t even dream of driving. Much less seeing in with his own two eyes in his own home. The car came to a stop just in front of the house, right in the middle of the narrow road framed by tall grass and fruit trees. The light flashed again, and he raised his arm to shield his eyes.

The driver’s side door opened, and out stepped an expensive looking pair of leather shoes, followed by a dark grey pant leg, and then came the rest of the fancy suit. Sungjin could tell all at once what kind of guy this was just from the way he carried himself with a sense of being entitled to world around him. The air of command and confidence hovered around this man, filling the courtyard with an odd energy. No one was perfect, and Sungjin was certain the kind of flaws this guy had were far worse than his.

“Good evening,” said the guy, his sharp eyes and even sharper features sweeping across the house. Even his accent was smooth as his voice. He sounded almost like Jae or Vini. “Is Vini Park here?”

“Brian?”

Vini pushed forward from behind Sungjin, running straight into this Brian’s waiting arms and folding herself into his embrace.

“I’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Brian said, cupping her face in his hands. “Are you alright? I was so worried about you.”

“I’m fine. What are you doing here?”

This Brian had wandering hands, and Sungjin didn’t care much for the way Brian checked Vini for…whatever he was checking her for. “I came here to bring you back home.”

Who the fuck was Brian?


	8. Chapter 8

“Oh, Brian.”

Brian cupped her face. “You should have come to me. When something bad happens, you go to me. I’ll take care of you. I’ll handle everything. I was so worried about you.”

Brian…was complicated. Technically, Brian Kang was Vini’s book agent. He drew up all her publishing deals and made sure she was well represented in all avenues her books were and could be involved in. Furthermore, he made sure she had a constant stream of work, and thus, income. Brian Kang was brilliant at his job. Also sometimes he threw in a particular benefit—the kind that mixed business with pleasure, and he was particularly gifted in that as well.

They had…something. But neither of them were willing to acknowledge whatever it was that was going on between them, both of them unwilling to risk a broken heart and a broken partnership. No point stirring it up when they both, on some level, knew it was probably nothing. Vini and Brian were simply happier not knowing.

“Are you okay?” he asked, turning her face left and right as though that were indicative of her wellbeing. She almost leaned into his touches, the familiarity of his hands made her ache for the things, and the person, she was used to.

“I’m fine,” Vini answered, taking his wrists in her hands. “I really am.”

Or anyway, she hadn’t been thinking about what had happened and that was enough.

He wrapped his hand around hers. “Let’s go, I’m taking you home.”

Home.

Home was a strange word. What did _home_ even mean? Was it the high-rise apartment where she lived? Was it supposed to mean the old house she grew up in, where her parents still lived? Was it a feeling she had no words for?

“I’m not going anywhere. I…I can’t.”

Brian’s eyes flashed something dark at something behind her head. Not something. Someone. Vini looked behind her shoulder, at Sungjin who was warily watching them as his hand absently stroked behind Baba’s ear to keep her calm. Even in the dimness of the night, she knew just by the set of Sungjin’s shoulders and at the stubborn tilt of his jaw that he had all his walls back up, guarded and suspicious.

“Who is that guy?” Brian asked.

“He…” Vini was at a lost at what to say exactly. “He’s Sungjin.”

“Who is Sungjin?” That’s when Brian noticed the ring on her finger.

“I can explain that,” Vini rushed to say, closing her hand in a fist and holding it close to her chest. “There is a rational explanation for this. It’s kinda funny, when you think about it. Hilarious, even.”

Brian grabbed her by the shoulders and tugged her closer to him. “What is going on here? Are you safe? Did this guy kidnap you? Are you being held here against your will?”

Sungjin scoffed loudly from where he was standing. “Who’s holding who against their will? Mister, I’d appreciate it if you took your hands off my wife.”

“Your…His….Wife?” Brian spluttered. “What the fuck is this guy talking about? What has he done to you?”

“He didn’t do anything to me.” Vini sighed, reluctantly easing away from Brian. Sungjin hasn’t done anything to her.

Except call her a grapevine. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Ugh. Vini was so mad at Sungjin.

“I’ll explain everything,” she assured Brian. “We’ll talk. Somewhere. Just give me a minute.”

Sungjin was full on glowering at her and at Brian, it was almost funny if it didn’t look like he could hurt himself with how tensely he was holding his entire body. When she came close enough, his eyes flickered and, in a blink, Vini found softness there. Softness and something else. Something confusing.

“We’re just gonna go talk, okay?” Vini peered at him. “We work together. And…there’s just some things we need to—”

Sungjin cut her off with another scoff. “Do whatever you want. Let’s go, Baba. Let’s leave them alone.”

Vini didn’t watch Sungjin and Baba disappear all the way to the back of the house. She spun on her heel, stomped away, and sat herself in the passenger’s seat of Brian’s car.

“I’m booked at the hotel.” Brian backed up from the driveway. “Do you want to get dinner?”

“I’m not exactly dressed for dinner,” Vini huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Sungjin could be so infuriating. Sometimes she just wanted to dunk his head down one of the clay jars. The water should be cold enough to knock some sense into him.

“You look lovely,” he said, quietly. “We’ll call for room service if you’re not up for it. I’m here now. I’ll take care of everything.”

Vini cleared her mind from all thoughts of Sungjin. Right now there was Brian. As well as whatever he had to say about the consequences of the events of That Night. She had spent the last handful of weeks not thinking about the life she had left behind, throwing herself into learning to work the vineyard, thankful of how exhausted the days left her she had no time to herself to just think. She was too exhausted for nightmares, and even though she would still wake up feeling just as tired as the day before, at least she had fallen asleep.

The ride was quiet, with soft music playing on the speakers. Brian understood all her quiet moments, and they often drove around the city like this. Just the two of them and the long stretch of road ahead. Somehow, Brian always knew when to save her from her own bouts of self-doubt especially in the middle of a work in progress. He always did have perfect timing. When they arrived at the resort, Vini was already operating on autopilot, following Brian as he lead her to his room. She sat on a dining chair, suddenly conscious of her work clothes staining the pristine while hotel sheets.

“Do you want to take a shower while I call for food? I have some extra clothes. You can borrow them.”

“Thanks. I think I’ll take a soak in the tub for a while.”

So she did that. She filled the tup with hot water, washed off the grime on her skin in the adjacent shower, and settled into the hot bath. Now that she had time to herself, all the muscle aches came together with the dark thoughts in her head. She couldn’t possibly go back yet. Vini was going to stay here for as long as she can.

Sungjin had built her a bath. That’s what he had been so testy and busy for the past two days. She had pestered him about what was behind the tarp, and he had glared at her and repeatedly told her it’s none of her business. Because it was a surprise?

She had been so excited about it. She had been excited about the way Sungjin had held her, too. Sungjin was a little rough, a little clumsy, but it made her feel like it was because he couldn’t figure out what to do with her. What first to do with her.

This much wanting was…confusing.

“How did you find me?” Vini asked, much later after her bath and dinner.

Brian sat across her on the small nook table next to the window. It was doo dark for a view, but Vini could bet it wasn’t nearly as picturesque as the view from the watchtower. “You mentioned it before. Running away to your grand uncle’s vineyard. You said it sounded romantic. To just leave the city and come here to write in peace. To be one with nature and to be free from distractions.”

“You remember that?”

“It was the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard you say. You can’t live without your phone and there’s no phone service here. No internet, no 24 hour anything, no delivery, no malls…”

“I don’t know how I’m still surviving, honestly.” Not like she had a choice. Life here was so different, Vini was living as a completely different person. She was starting all over again from scratch, free from her past.

“Come home.”

A lump formed in her throat. “I can’t.”

“Are you really married to this guy?”

She reached over and touched his hand. “Can you trust me this time? I know you like taking control of my life because it makes you feel better fixing messes but just this once, can you let me sort this out on my own?”

“Should I call the police? You’re worrying me.”

She shook her head. “Sungjin is a good guy. He is a good person. He makes me so angry sometimes but he doesn’t mean any harm. Just let me stay here for a while to recover. I”—she held back the tears and the croak in her throat—“I really can’t go back there just yet. Brian, please.”

“I understand. You know I do. But I can’t just leave you here. Please come back home. I promise you, it will be okay.” Brian never pleaded this much with her. It was his last line in his arsenal of negotiation tactics, and he had to only threaten her once with it. That was when she released her latest book. One that didn’t belong with the rest of her work. One that she was a little more proud of, maybe more than just a little more than the others. To the end, it was Brian who believed in her. Still believed in her.

“But what if it isn’t all okay?”

He leaned closer. “Your parents are worried about you. Everyone’s worried about you. I worry about you all the time. I almost filed a missing persons report.”

“I’m sorry I’m asking you take this burden for me, but can you not tell anyone where I am? Just let them know I’m fine. That I’m…resting. They’ll understand that much. Tell them you arranged for me to stay somewhere. For a vacation. For healing.”

“And what you’re doing right now is a vacation? It’s healing?”

“It helps.”

He cast his eyes down on his empty plate then took a drink of his iced americano. “I have news about your book?”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“Even if it’s good news?”

Vini covered her face with her hands. “What for? The worst has been done.”

“Vini…”

She took a steadying breath. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Maybe she could avoid talking about the book and the event surrounding it forever. She could live here, with Sungjin, in this little village no one really cares about. All this, all the early mornings, the muscle pain, the blisters on her hands and feet, they all meant she was one step closer to belonging here. A little more and perhaps they might accept her as this new person. And Vini would never have go back to the way it was ever again.

“Alright. I won’t talk about it.”

“Thank you, Brian.”

“I won’t stop worrying about you.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?” Brian stood up and locked her in his embrace. She was still wrapped in a fluffy white robe. Still wore Sungjin’s ring. Even if she could believe that Sungjin had coincidentally found a random pair of rings with the corresponding initials, the look on his face was too obvious.

“I’m gonna get dressed and go,” Vini said, pulling away from Brian.

“Stay,” he said, catching her hand and pulling her back into him. “Please?”

“I really have to get back. I have to be at the vineyard early in the morning.” Was that really her? Did she really just say that? When there was a lush, indulgent hotel bed right in front of her? Her back hasn’t gotten used to sleeping on a padded mattress on the floor, and the bed looked so inviting.

“I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself,” Brian teased.

She nudged him with her shoulder. “That’s what you said last time.”

“Should I build a pillow fort?”

She rolled her eyes. “As if that’s going to stop you.”

“I stop when you tell me to stop, but you’ve never asked me to stop. Are you asking me to stop now?”

“Let’s not do this tonight,” Vini ducked her head. “I…can’t do this tonight.”

Brian tipped her chin up and met her eyes. “Hey. I was only teasing. Come on, you look like you really need a good night’s sleep. I’ll sleep on the sofa if that makes you feel any better.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I really didn’t come all the way here for a booty call.”

She smiled at that. Brian was trying to fix her mess, and he wasn’t just going to drop this task just because she asked him. Vini didn’t deserve any of this, and the feeling weighed so heavy in her heart she stared at the ceiling all night as Brian slept peacefully at the other side of the bed.


	9. Chapter 9

Vini and Brian were none of his business.

Sungjin instead shifted his attention and his concentration to the trellis and the wooden supports for stability. Grapevines needed all the sunlight and air and water they could get, so he made sure that everything was set just so. Before the season began, he made sure the soil was the right kind of loose with the correct ratio of nutrients. This year, it was going to be different. The grapes would be sweet like they were when the old man was watching over them.

All Sungjin needed was the correct trigger combination of light, water, and soil and the vines would bloom, and the blooms would turn into fruit.

If he could only convince these vines to take a risk on him, to take that one and only chance to grow.

In a way, he felt like a seed. One that had to wait until the right moment to start seeking out the soil and the sun. But each beginning, though the end of waiting, meant he had only one chance. Sometimes it felt impossible. Other times it felt inevitable.

At that moment, Sungjin didn’t know what to feel.

He longed for the sweetness of the grapes the same way he had sought out the sweetness of Vini’s lips. Craved for it, even. The way she fit into him, like she could curl around him and poke holes into his defences, it was almost too perfect. And too dangerous. She had his blood pumping again, making him feel things he knew better than to allow himself otherwise.

But he wasn’t for Vini.

“Good morning!”

Sungjin turned his head and found Wonpil walking through the hedgerows and toward him. “What brings you here?”

Wonpil’s smile faded into a grim expression. “It’s about Sarang.”

Sungjin felt the ground sway from beneath him. That was a name he hadn’t heard of, or spoken of, in years. He faced the vines again, focused on counting the leaves and the buds, poised his pruning shears at the right spot but he couldn’t stop his hand from shaking or his vision from blurring.

“The little one,” Wonpil said after a pause. “Little Sarang. I came to talk to her parents. Mrs. Shim told me they’re helping out here today.”

Sungjin released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Wonpil noticed, of course. Wonpil noticed everything. This was a test, Sungjin belatedly realized. One he just failed. “What did Sarang do this time,” he asked dryly.

Wonpil shook his head and tsked. “What didn’t she do? Sarang is adorable but she’s a little monster sometimes. All Sarangs are troublemakers, so it seems.”

Sungjin was inclined to agree, but he didn’t want to give Wonpil the satisfaction after Wonpil baited him into revealing what Sungjin had no intention of opening up to. But it was too late. It had been too late the moment Wonpil found out.

“They’re probably near the east end,” Sungjin said instead, avoiding Wonpil’s curious gaze.

“Where’s your wife?”

Sungjin gave up pruning this section of the vines. “Resting. She’s tired.”

Wonpil inclined his head knowingly. “I know it’s none of my business—”

“But I don’t have a choice, do I?”

Wonpil shook his head. “No. I’m your friend. How many people here can you say are your friends? Aside from myself and Dowoon, who looks out for you?”

“Everyone in this village looks out for me,” Sungjin muttered.

“You know what I mean.”

“I really don’t.”

Wonpil’s expression shifted into one of worry and concern, and Sungjin wanted nothing more than to get this conversation over with and quickly. “You know how my sister works reception at the resort?”

“I heard.”

Wonpil pressed his lips into a tight line. “I bought her silence, but…Sungjin? Why would your wife be there with another man?”

Sungjin swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a laugh. “That…that was business. That’s a guy she works with. Ha-ha. Don’t misunderstand. They had a meeting.”

Wonpil raised a brow. “So late at night?”

“…T-time zones.” Sungjin started down the hedge, releasing the excess energy down his feet and into the soil. He had already received their pity once, Sungjin didn’t want to be at the receiving end of it again. Not for a lie. Not again.

What was he doing protecting Vini anyway? He should have used that opportunity to begin the process of making it appear that they were falling apart. That was part of the plan, wasn’t it?

“Are you alright?”

Sungjin forced a loud, boisterous laugh. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You know,” Wonpil said, calmly, “I worry about you sometimes. Especially after that happened. I mean…you suddenly came back and you’re married?”

Sungjin continued down the hedge and into the next one, but Wonpil was still right behind him. “I left to propose and I got married, what’s so hard to connect?”

“The part where you came back with a wife. Except she’s not really the woman you went after.”

Sungjin stilled in his tracks. “It’s always been her,” Sungjin said through gritted teeth. “How weird would it be to be so open about being in a relationship with the old man’s grand niece, right?”

But Wonpil was seeing right through him. “Let’s say I believe you. How are you and Vini, then?”

“We’re fine,” he spat out the words without meaning to. “Just like every other normal married couple.”

Wonpil sighed. “If you need to talk, you know where to find me.”

The way Wonpil looked behind Sungjin’s shoulder gave Sungjin cause to worry. And just as well. Vini had arrived. Sungjin barely acknowledged her, sparing her a glance before moving on to the next row of vines that needed pruning. The leaves were growing out, and he needed to take away the ones that were only going to do more harm than good.

Vini worked next to him, as she usually did. They spent the next hour or so in strained silence. She kept glancing at him, throwing him off his concentration. But every time he tried to move away from her, Vini followed after him.

“You’re doing it wrong,” he said, pointing at where she was about to cut a leaf. “Do it exactly as I showed you.”

“I am doing it exactly as you said,” Vini answered, her tone rising to meet his.

“Just do it right.”

“I am doing it right.” She dropped her hands and stood to face him. “Tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

Sungjin refused to back down. “You’re…you’re just doing it wrong.”

She spoke in an angry whisper. “You know I can run over to the square right now and tell them I’m not really your wife and I can kick you out.”

“Go ahead, then.” Sungjin didn’t even care anymore. “Do it.”

Vini raised her chin at him before brushing past him and out of the vineyard.

Good, he thought.

This was better.

In the meantime, he had more work to do and he continued on as though nothing had happened.

  
By lunch, Sungjin was exhausted and hungry. He didn’t feel like socialising, so when the aunties and the uncles invited him for lunch, he politely declined and accepted the jokes that he was probably heading home to his wife.

They couldn’t have been more wrong.

But, when Sungjin arrived at the house, it wasn’t just Baba who came to greet him. Vini was sitting at the dining table with lunch prepared and ready for him. She looked up with an apologetic smile on her face.

Sungjin melted at the sight.

“I made food. I told you, I know how to cook. I did live alone, for like, ever since I graduated high school. I just…can’t work a gas stove and…the fire spit.” She bit her lip. “It’s not called a fire spit, is it. You told me, I can’t remember. But…the rice came out good. Lookand see for yourself.”

She lifted the pot cover and Sungjin’s mouth watered at the perfectly cooked fluffy white rice. He joined her on the table, lifting himself up and sitting down on the bamboo deck. “It’s about time,” he said, meeting her eyes. “How long have you been here.”

Vini scooped a bowl of rice for him, filling it up and packing it tightly so he could eat more. Then she poured him some soup and pushed the grilled fish closer to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. “You’re scaring me.”

“I’m being a good wife,” she grumbled. “I’m sorry about the thing I said…about telling everyone. I was angry at you. I’m not so sure why.”

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you,” Sungjin said softly. “I’m sorry. I’ll teach you better next time.”

Vini shook her head. “No, I probably was doing it wrong. I don’t want to hurt the vineyard.”

Sungjin smiled. Peered into her eyes. “You could never hurt the vineyard.”

Her hand came up to hide her face, and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her hand closer to look at the cut and the burns on her hand.

“What happened to you?”

Vini twisted her hand away. “Don’t make a big deal out of it,” she said, “It’s just a little cut and a little clumsiness lighting up the stove okay, it’s not a big deal.”

Sungjin huffed and inhaled loudly. “How did you burn yourself? I thought you said you knew what you were doing? Why aren’t you more careful? What If you burned down the house? The vineyard? The neighbouring vineyards?”

What if she got hurt and Sungjin wasn’t there to save her?

“You…stay away from open fires.”

Vini just gave him a look. “This is how you learn to do things. And I want to do this right.” She bit her lip. “Last night…”

Sungjin turned away and picked up his utensils. Was this something he wanted to hear? Lunch was fine as it was if they pretended they were husband and wife within the confines of their house and the vineyard. Sungjin didn’t want to hear anything about this Brian Kang or what he was to Vini.

“I’m sorry about last night. I’m sorry I didn’t come home.”

Sungjin started eating his rice. He couldn’t answer her when his mouth was full.

“We had a long conversation. That’s it, I promise. Nothing happened. Nothing weird happened. Everything was about work. About the things I left behind. But it’s all settled now. I’ll…I’ll be staying a little longer…like we talked about.”

Sungjin swallowed his food and drank a full cup of water. When he spoke, it was toward the distance. “My wife or not, I don’t get to tell you what you can or can’t do. When I married you, or whatever it was we did on the watchtower, it was in full trust that you will do you part as I will do mine. We chose to do this together, and I will do what I have to do as your husband even it’s just a lie. You don’t have to apologise to me. Whatever business you have that has nothing to do with this, that’s nothing I have to concern myself with.”

And yet he couldn’t get rid of the memory of the way Brian had held Vini so closely, so familiarly, so intimately as though there were years to that relationship Sungjin would never learn.

Vini watched him so closely, he turned away and focused on eating. Husband or not, he couldn’t possibly demand anything of her. What he wanted from Vini, he refused to take. Not by force or by deceit. All he could do was be what she needed when she needed him. The realisation was confusing as it was unwanted. Vini had his plans all up in the air with no real landing point in sight. Somehow, Sungjin would just have to live with Vini’s sly teasing, her soft touches, and that one kiss they shared knowing he would never taste them again.


	10. Chapter 10

Sungjin said the thing about roots was that they sought water and other nutrients in the soil. They dug deep and spread further than the eye can see above ground. Once a plant takes root, that meant a full commitment to stay where they were with no more chance, or hope, of relocating when the environment becomes less than forgiving.

“So you’re saying,” Vini mused, tapping the vines with her fingers, “that these poor grapes have no choice but be stuck with you?”

The look of love on Sungjin’s face fell into a look of exasperation before he recovered and sent her a look of wry amusement. Absently, he brushed his hair back with his hands. “It can’t be that bad being stuck with me.”

Vini smiled to herself and returned to her chores. The everyday routine was becoming second nature to her now, waking up at sunrise, preparing breakfast, working the mornings until lunch, and back again the in afternoons to finish the day’s tasks. Being stuck with Sungjin wasn’t nearly as awful as she had thought it would be. She had too much fun teasing him, and a little voice in her mind was saying he was having fun being teased anyway.

They worked like this, Vini going over the vines while Sungjin walked behind her watering the hedgerows with a water sprayer he carried on his back. He was such a safe presence that Vini felt her world shifting just knowing he was around her.

“Who knew taking care of grapevines was such hard work”—Vini stilled at the thought that stuck her and she stormed all the way to Sungjin to shove him in the chest but he was barely affected by it—“I can’t believe you called me high maintenance!”

“When did I say that?” Sungjin shot back, offended.

“You called me a grapevine! When you built the bath you said it’s because I’m such a grapevine.”

He started laughing.

“What’s s funny!”

Sungjin brushed his hair away from his eyes, something that never failed to take her breath away. “Why are you still thinking about that? Don’t think too much about it.”

“Is that what you think of me?”

Because it mattered now, what Sungjin thought of her. At first, Vini didn’t care that he might have believed her intentions to be less than honourable, dragging him deeper into this lie regardless if he were the one to start it, and allowing him to believe she could ever cause him harm. But it mattered that he didn’t think ill about everything else about her. All this, the muscle pains, the sunburn, the deprivation of all the conveniences and comforts she had known, it had to mean something more than just her escape.

Sungjin, however, was determined to keep her at more than an arm’s length. Was he so unfamiliar with affection that closeness terrified him? Vini knew that he’d been alone and detached for so long. Every time Vini went to the marketplace, the aunties kept reminding her that she had left him so lonely these past so many years. He could have easily changed his story at any point, but he never did. He could have found himself someone to love, or at least someone for the night if not someone for life. Sungjin had choices, but he chose this life. Why?

He cast a look on the grapevines that were beginning to bloom. “Is that what _you_ think grapevines are?”

“Don’t avoid the question by turning it back on me,” she said, pointing her pruning shears at him.

Sungjin flinched playfully to the side. “Hey! Point that thing away.”

“I’m not even anywhere near you.”

“Be careful with those,” he said, softer this time. “Those are really sharp.”

She blew out a breath. “Honestly, what do you think of me? I’m not hopeless or helpless. I can take care of myself. And other people.”

She reached for the vine too hastily, a little too aggressively, and fumbled with the shears then dropped it when the sharp edge bit into her palm. A dotted line of red welled where the skin broke.

“What did you do this time?” he said, shrugging off the water sprayer and setting it on the ground. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

But he’d already taken her hand in his. After a quick check, he lifted her injured hand to his mouth and sucked the pain away. The action was efficient and careful, not harsh, but it sent her wits scattering just the same.

Then he cupped her hand in his, holding his thumb pressed against her tiny wound. His eyes, however, never left her face. Her heart pounded as though it was determined to keep her hand bleeding. As though it never wanted this moment to end.

Maybe she should just let Sungjin take care of her.

Sungjin shook the hair off his eyes.

“You…” Vini reached up with her other hand and brushed his hair away from his face. “You really need to get a trim.”

His eyes fluttered closed as her fingers slid through his dark, thick hair. Lightly, teasingly, she curled her fingers around the strands, pushing them up and away from his face, off to the side and all directions, making is hair stick up in odd angles. She freed her other hand and, with both hands now, played with his hair and scraped her fingertips against his scalp.

“What are you doing?” he asked dryly.

“You look like an angry bear,” she answered, mischievously.

Vini combed his hair back running her fingers from front to back, massaging his scalp along the way. He sighed contentedly and leaned into her touch. “Just like that, see? It’s just a little softness. You can be soft, too. Nothing wrong with that.”

Vini’s heart thundered in her ears. All she wanted now was to lie him down over her lap and lull him to sleep. Give him a dose of a little affection, just enough to let him know he wasn’t alone anymore. Just to let him know that he could have as much, that he deserved taking care of, too. Of what he could be letting in if only he’d open up to the possibilities.

She anchored her hands at his nape, her thumb now drawing circles behind his ears. She didn’t notice before, but Sungjin’s ears were pierced. She counted at least four, three on the left ear and another one on the right. Looked like Sungjin had an interesting past, after all.

Sungjin’s big hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her near. Vini held on tight. _Breathe_, she reminded herself. He lined her body against his, pressing her against the length of him, against the heat of him and the sharp exhales from his chest. Sungjin felt so strong, so solid and stable against her, for the first time in a long while she thought she might break down completely. She wanted to know him, all of him, to feel him everywhere and make him feel what he did to her. If she could make him open up and bloom like the way he did with the vineyard, then maybe she could one good thing for him after all.

Slowly, always so slowly, his lips crossed the remaining distance between them. Everything about how they made it to this point may have been a lie, but this kiss was truth. Vini opened her mouth to him, allowing him to kiss her more deeply and more urgently.

She wasn’t the first person he had kissed. Vini could tell that much, though she doubted any of the women who had kissed him had known what the fuck they were doing. She felt a vague, silly sort of rage on Sungjin’s behalfs. It made her all the more resolved to make this kiss sublime. Breathlessly long and slow and sweet and deep to obliterate those kisses from his memory. Sungjin deserved to kissed, and often, by someone who knew how.

From this moment forward, when he thought of kisses, he would think only of her.

Vini reveled in the low gravelly noises he made from the back of his throat, and she kissed him harder, deeper, digging her fingers into the back of his neck and keeping him there. She licked at his lips, coaxing him further until he was moving his lips and his tongue with her. As they kissed and kissed, his hands came to either sides of her face bringing her to him so roughly it electrified her.

Vini wanted more.

So much more.

This was only the beginning, and the beginning promised something so wonderful she didn’t have the words to describe it.

“A-Ahem.”

Sungjin stepped away, as thought burned by her touch. He turned his face toward the hedge and away from their intruders. Vini snapped herself from her daze, uncertain if she wanted to laugh embarrassedly or run away at getting caught kissing Sungjin in the vineyard.

Jae tilted his head apologetically and put his palms together. “Sorry to be bothering you, truly.”

Mrs. Shim cleared her throat again, eyeing them with a disapproving look on her face. Next to her, JYP was absolutely beside himself, grinning ear to ear with sparkles in his eyes.

“Apologies,” JYP said, “We don’t mean to intrude on your, uh, moment, but we’ve come to ask a favour of you.”

Sungjin turned around then, ears flaming pink, but his face was utterly devoid of emotion. “How may we help you?”

JYP continued. “As you know, we’ve agreed to house the volunteers throughout their stay here, and unfortunately, we have to reshuffle the schedule as Mr. And Mrs. Im have a bit of a problem with—”

“They have an infestation!” Mrs. Shim sniffed. “It’s highly embarrassing.”

JYP gestured at Mrs. Shim to calm down. “I don’t mean to cut short your blissful reunion, but could you house the volunteers for the summer?”

Sungjin nodded, though Vini could sense the conflict in his answer. “That won’t be a problem.”

“Wonderful,” JYP said, clapping his hands. “I’ll have the girls called over with their things. Jae can you find Dowoon and fetch them?”

Jae gave JYP a mock salute. “I’m on it. Thanks again,” he said to Sungjin and Vini. “We’ll be the perfect houseguests. Promise.” Then he hurried off to find Dowoon.

While Sungjin and JYP discussed the rest of the arrangements, Vini contemplated the judgey gaze Mrs. Shim was giving her. It wasn’t the sort of look she received often, though she received all sorts of judgment on a regular basis in her old life. While Vini understood rationally that she couldn’t please everybody, Mrs. Shim made it as though Vini had to please her, most of all. Which only made Vini all the more compelled to shock her.

Vini touched Sungjin by the elbow to catch his attention. “My husband.”

Sungjin blinked at her, either still dazed from their kiss or still unaccustomed to her choice of endearment. To be fair, she started calling him that to annoy him, but it was growing on her. “Yes?”

“I should go ahead and get the house ready. I’ll see you there?”

Sungjin nodded at her, and she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to press another soft kiss to his lips.

Take that, Mrs. Shim.

On the plus side, JYP was grinning in approval, and Vini made her leave with a skip in her steps.

  
Vini realized the problem the moment she accounted for the space they needed to take in the volunteers. At first, she thought the girls could share her grand uncle’s old room, or she could take her grand uncle’s old room and the girls could share her room. That way Jae could share a room with Sungjin.

But it was all wrong because in the first place, there was no reason for Jae to share Sungjin’s room.

Because Vini was supposed to be the one sharing Sungjin’s bed.

“We probably should have thought this through,” she said to Sungjin when he arrived to help set up the house.

“I can’t just say no to the town leader,” he answered. Baba followed him closely to Vini’s door and lay down by his feet.

“Oh, no. I understand that. You’re very generous and kind, you’re hopeless really. And I’m not against it. I…” Vini inclined her head and bit her lip. “I meant our sleeping arrangements.”

Color suffused the tips of Sungjin’s ears. “Right.”

“Jae can stay in the other room and the girls can take my room. And I…” She looked across the interior of her room, conscious of the less than orderly state it was in.

“You…” Sungjin let the thought go unspoken. However, he did not miss the opportunity to cast a meaningful look at the pile of clothes on the floor and half-made mattress.

Vini slid her door to block Sungjin’s view, even just a little bit. “Unless you have an explanation why we sleep in separate rooms.”

Sungjin ran his hand through his hair. Held it there. “We could just…we can say…”

“Or I could just…”

Just what? Sleep in Sungjin’s room as though she could sleep through all this unwanted wanting. After the way he had kissed her this afternoon, Vini couldn’t look her fake husband in the eye without remembering his hands on her.

It was too late to decide. The sound of the tractor alerted them to the arrival of Dowoon, JYP, and their houseguests. While they were making themselves comfortable on the courtyard deck, Vini rushed to throw her clothes into her suitcase. The laundry she had procrastinated on was piling up as usual.

“We’ll make dinner,” Ayeon said, “We bought some meat, too. We’re really sorry for imposing on you like this.”

“Don’t be silly,” Vini said, coming out the door. “We’re happy to have you.”

JYP eyed her suitcase carefully. “Are you going somewhere?”

Sungjin was quicker to answer, “That’s my fault,” he said deprecatingly. “I haven’t finished building the rest of our furniture yet, that’s why her things are in there. I was going to convert the room into an office for her. Since mine is a mess right now.”

“Ah,” JYP said, clutching his chest. “To build a home by hand. Such endeavours take time, indeed.”

Sungjin helped Vini into his room while the others did the same for their own respective spaces. She had never had a reason to be inside Sungjin’s room before, so Vini didn’t know what to expect when she walked inside, but she couldn’t have predicted what she saw there.

Sungjin’s room was neat. That wasn’t a surprise. It was more an office than a bedroom, with a desk off to one side of the room filled with textbooks, agricultural journals, the accounting for the vineyard, and an acoustic guitar in a stand on the corner. Up the loft was where he slept, on a frameless foam mattress.

Sungjin carried her suitcase up to the loft and set it against the wall. “I’ll go clean up first,” he said, avoiding the conversation and her curious looks. “C-can you show the kids around?”

“They’re not really kids,” Vini answered. “But sure.”

After she directed Jae and Hyerim to the kitchen, Vini checked out back for Sungjin. She leaned halfway out the door and the breath whooshed right out of her lungs. Sungjin’s lower half was half-obscured by the barrier, but it still left enough to fill her eyes with the sight of his broad back. He lifted the small basin above his head and tipped it over to wash his hair. Then he ran his fingers through his wet hair, and her eyes followed the trickle of water down his skin. Vini bit into her hand to keep from squealing out loud.

Which in turn reminded her of Sungjin’s lips on her skin.

Which had her thinking of other places he could kiss her.

How had she survived this long without his touch?

A scuffle to her side yanked her from her thoughts, and Vini found Jimin staring at her.

“Oh, gosh. I’m so sorry. I swear, I’m not checking out your husband while he’s cooling off and taking a bath in your own backyard.” As she said that, Jimin peered through the gaps in her fingers anyway.

Once again, Vini didn’t know whether to laugh hysterically or walk away embarrassedly. “Did you need anything?”

An aside, how was it that Jimin managed to come across this on her first day when Vini had spent the past month and something odd days without once coming across this?

“I was gonna ask where the bathroom is?”

Silly at it was, Vini was reluctant to share the bath Sungjin built for her, but there was no reason to be uncharitable to the volunteers. Less so that she enjoyed their company in the vineyard when they came to help out. She gestured toward the left. “That’s the bathroom and the toilet.”

“I’ll, uh, come back later.” Jimin said, pointing her fingers back to the direction of the kitchen.

Vini moved to slide the backdoor closed.

“It’s none of my business,” Jimin started, “But like, if I were you I’d just go out there and join him. Not that _I_ would or that I’m thinking about it specifically. But, like, the dude is your husband and all so _you_ can go do the thing. I’m sorry we’re barging in on your honeymoon 2.0 phase and now you can’t do exactly that because we’re all here. I just really wanted to know where the bathroom is. But it’s fine. I can wait.”

Vini laughed despite herself. “It’s alright, Jimin. Let’s get the table ready.”

It was going to be a long night.


	11. Chapter 11

“What have I gotten myself into?” Sungjin whispered miserably into the grapevines.

He had run off to the vineyard after dinner, making up some excuse just to place some distance between him and Vini. His wife. With whom he was expected to share a bed. With whom, as far as everyone else was concerned, he already shared a bed with every night since she had made her way back home to him.

Likewise, Sungjin would have to make his way back home to her.

Eventually. Inevitably.

Perhaps he could camp out at the watchtower tonight. The days and nights were getting warmer, albeit with rains accompanying the shift in weather. Sungjin could stand getting wet in the cold rain. In fact, that was probably exactly what he needed to cool down the fire in his blood.

When he’d kissed Vini earlier that afternoon, arousal had pounded through him hot and demanding. It frightened him, just a little bit, how badly he wanted to claim her and make Vini his. He wanted her marked. More than just a ring on her finger, he wanted the whole world to know that he possessed her some way. Because he was shaken to his core.

But he had to save her from himself.

Sungjin was no fool. There was no way, not even when squinting and look at the situation sideways, that one could believe Sungjin had anything Vini needed. Or deserved. All he had was a life in this vineyard, and that wasn’t a life one gave up a future for.

That was exactly what he had made the townsfolk believe. That somehow he had kidnapped this princess from her castle and chained her to this life in the middle of nowhere. Sungjin had always known what the whispers and the looks meant, and he never attempted to convince them otherwise. If only he could take it all back.

Cold rain fell upon his shoulders, and he shrugged it off, walking aimlessly through the hedgerows. In a few more weeks, he would have to work nights anyway. When the grapevines started bearing fruit, trouble always followed. Last year, he had to deal with white rot and bugs, and later in the season he’d had to chase away thieves looking to make profit off his grapes.

Sungjin shook his head at the memory.

Grape thieves.

Unbelievable.

A shuffling sound and a bright light broke his reverie, and Sungjin cupped his eyes to see through the glare. Sungjin braced himself for danger, his instincts taking over to protect this vineyard at all costs. He would stop whatever this was—nip trouble in the bud before it would ever think about coming for his home and his wife.

Vini traipsed through the path with an umbrella and a flashlight in either hand.

Sungjin’s defences melted away. “What are you doing?”

“It started raining! And you didn’t bring an umbrella. If it starts raining any harder, you might get sick. Obviously, I’ve come to rescue you.”

For a moment, he almost believed that he deserved this, someone running out in the rain worried he might get wet and get sick. That someone like him deserved some good in this world. That someone like Vini would offer him attention and affection. Give him permission to take rather than just give.

“You’ve come…to rescue me.”

Vini held the umbrella over both their heads. “Can’t this wait until tomorrow? Let’s go home.”

The words nearly broke him, and Sungjin gave in. He took the umbrella from her, tilting it just so she would stay dry, never mind that his entire left side was soaking wet. Then she looped her arm around his elbow, and illuminated the way with her flashlight.

Inside his room, the quiet thundered in his ears but Vini somehow quelled the noise. They brushed their teeth, and while Vini washed her face, Sungjin changed into dry clothes.

“I’ll stay down here,” he said, laying down a padded blanket on the floor. “You go ahead and sleep on the bed.”

Vini’s lips twisted in that way he knew she was about to argue with him, but in the end she said nothing and prepared for bed. Sungjin shut down the lights and then laid down on his back. All night, he tossed and he turned, hyperaware of Vini so near and yet so far.

  
In the following days, despite Sungjin’s amorous turmoil, he kept to their usual routine as though nothing had thrown their normal into chaos. He still couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss, about the softness of Vini’s hands, and the neediness of her lips. He might even come to admit that Vini wanted more in the way her eyes seemed to plead with him in the moments before they retired for bed. That Sungjin would not have the capacity to say no if she were to come to him and ask for more.

He scowled at the mirror instead, holding it up with one hand while he poised his razor with the other. He was in need of a shave, having forgone the ritual in the mornings. Lately, it had become too loud in his little pocket of peace away from all the happenings in town. His houseguests were no trouble at all, however Sungjin had been so used to living alone, having this many people threw him off.

But the mornings were nothing but interesting, with Jae and Jimin arguing about something new everyday and Ayeon and Hyerim discovering more creative ways to distract them both from throttling each other’s throats. Vini, though, was enjoying herself thoroughly. Sungjin was so used to being alone, he didn’t even realize that Vini needed other people in her life, too.

Which made him think about the life she had lived before this. The life she was escaping. Surely she had friends that were not Brian Kang. She had parents. Did she have a lover?

Vini kissed like she knew what she was doing.

How did he fare in comparison, he wondered acutely aware that it would do him no good to think about it.

“Do you need help with that?” Vini asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

“Shouldn’t you be at the vineyard?”

“So should you,” she shot back, “but you’re not missing out on anything. Although I think at some point Jae is going to lose his head if he can’t figure out how to ask Hyerim out on a date.”

Sungjin narrowed his eyes at her. “What?”

Vini washed her hands in the nearby basin of water and settled herself next to him on the deck. “You can hold the mirror or you can put it down.” Then she asked for the razor.

“What?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t notice the way Jae and Hyerim are stealing glances at each other. It’s cute. It’s driving us all mad from impatience. Give it. I’ll do it for you.”

It’s been far too long since Sungjin had heard those words directed at him, he could only numbly comply.

“I used to do this for my dad,” she muttered quietly, her eyes softening at the memory. “His hands aren’t as steady as they used to be so he used to cut himself all the time. I just liked playing with the foam and watching him, and then eventually I volunteered. He wasn’t much of a talker, so it was really the only time we’d spend together. He didn’t talk then either, but I felt closer to him.”

Her hands were gentle as she wet his face and lathered the cream around his jaw. Every caress reminded him of the years of neglect, and he sighed into her hands as her fingers drew circles on his skin. Emotions battled inside him, one end feeling unreasonably pampered while the other end roared red-blooded with Vini standing so close and positioning herself between his thighs.

“What is it exactly that you do?” he asked, refocusing his concentration. “What are you?”

Vini wiped her hands and picked up the razor. “I…I guess I’m a writer?”

“You guess?”

She started with light and easy strokes. “That’s what I do.”

“Then why aren’t you writing?” he asked while she was rinsing his razor.

“Ouch?” Vini said, and though she said it wryly, he saw the flicker of hurt in her eyes. “Is that really a thing you want to say to someone with a pointed blade near your jugular?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay.” She resumed shaving the other side of his face. “Besides, how do you expect me to write when you’re working me day in and day out on the vineyard—I’m kidding—where would I even work? I don’t have a desk in my room. That’s probably an excuse. I could work on the floor if I wanted to. There.”

She put the razor in the basin and wiped his face clean. “Look at you,” she teased, running her fingers through his hair. “Next time maybe go to town and get a haircut?”

Sungjin didn’t even feel the need to check in the mirror. He was too distracted by the rise and fall of her chest, her scent, and her warmth. The back of her hands stroked his cheek. Then her palms. She was saying something about what a good job she did—teasing him, no doubt—but the words weren’t registering. Her touch was fraying the last bit of his self-control. Each idle caress ignited something in the core of him. Her skin on his skin scraped him raw.

He could do it. Reach out and pull her into him. Take her into his arms and hold her close. Hold her so tight and not let go.

Sungjin was falling apart, and he couldn’t even do anything about it.

That night, Sungjin slept on the floor. But the following night, as he was preparing to spread his beddings, Vini pulled him away from what should be the honourable thing to do and they slept on opposite ends of his bed with enough space in between them it was almost laughable if he could find his wits about him. On the third night, Vini lay on her side facing him and he did the same falling asleep with her face as the last thing he saw in the dimness of his room. So it went, each night, little by little they laid closer to each other until Vini pressed herself against him, until he slept holding her in his arms.

Until Vini’s fingers mapped the course of veins on his hands and his arms. Her wandering hands toured his chest, followed the line up his collarbones and his neck, and dove into his hair where her lush ministrations had him sighing in deep contentment. And then his lips were falling upon hers and she was grinning into his kiss and trembling in delight. Sungjin drew her closer, and she reached around him without a hint of fear or hesitance.

The kiss was lingering and lush, going on and on all night until sleep claimed them both. Sungjin had not felt so at peace, so rested, so happy in the years he had slept in this room. Waking up had felt like a daily miracle, just seeing her face sleeping next to him had him feeling like his chest would burst. The first morning, he couldn’t believe it was real; days later he still felt the same.

Vini curled into him, wrapping a leg around his leg and tugging him closer by the shirt. “Do we have to go to the vineyard today?” she asked sleepily.

“Are you still tired?” he asked, still unable to believe this was happening at all.

“Can’t we have a lazy day and just stay like this?”

“Anything you want.”

She giggled into his chest. “Don’t spoil me. You should know better than to spoil me. I’m terrible.”

Sungjin stared at the ceiling, praying for strength to do as she asked. But it was hopeless. He would give her the moon and the stars if she asked for them. “How will we eat if we just stay here?”

Vini mumbled incoherencies in return.

The knocking on his door was an unwelcome distraction from his deciphering her jumbled words. Panic seized him, first at being caught with Vini, and next at explaining away how they weren’t in the vineyard yet when it was nearing midday when Sungjin had never overslept a day since the old man gave him a second chance.

Belatedly, it occurred to him there was no reason to panic about being caught in bed. With his wife.

“Don’t answer that.” Vini pouted and tugged at him to get back to bed.

“I’ll be right back,” Sungjin promised.

Reluctantly, he pulled himself out of bed and down the stairs. It was probably just Dowoon checking in on him. At worse, it was one of the aunties. He hoped there wasn’t a legitimate emergency.

Sungjin opened the door to JYP standing behind it. “Good morning?”

JYP smiled, the look on his face diplomatic. “I’m so sorry to be bothering you, but you see we’ve got visitors and they’re asking for you specifically. They’re from the university.”

Sungjin’s stomach dropped to the ground and his grip on the door tightened. He searched the courtyard for the familiar faces, and there he saw the personification of his regret and heartache.

“Sungjin,” she said, walking up to his door and smiling as though everything was alright. “It’s been a while.”

“Sarang.”


	12. Chapter 12

Sungjin was not okay.

For the rest of the day since coming back from the meeting with the university researchers, Sungjin had been surlier than usual even Jae was tiptoeing around him and Dowoon was outright running off to the opposite direction from him. Vini was at a loss. Everyone—even the aunties—expected her to know what to do to placate her husband, but the truth remained that Vini had no idea what she was supposed to do. In the first place, she didn’t even know what was bothering him.

Something from this morning, obviously.

But what?

“Don’t look at me,” Vini said to Jae. “He’s not talking to me either.”

Jae peeked over the watchtower ledge. “You think he’ll yell at us for taking a break?”

Sungjin was…somewhere deep in the vineyard. Vini had not fully grasped the breadth of the property until she had unwittingly played this game of hide and seek with her pretend-husband. Earlier at lunch, she went home to check if he was there but the house was exactly how she had left it that morning. If only Baba could talk, then perhaps she could tell Vini if Sungjin had been home.

Dowoon unpacked the lunchbox Mrs. Ok had sent over to them for their afternoon snack. “Ah, Boss does this sometimes. When he’s in a bad mood he’ll go down to the river sometimes to think. The last time he went, he camped out there for three days. I wouldn’t worry about him too much if I were you. He just needs to let off some steam.”

The look Vini sent Dowoon had the younger man ducking his head. “You know where he is?”

“I mean,” Dowoon stuttered, “I mean I think I might have a really vague idea where Boss might be but I’m really not sure where he is. It’s really more like just a ballpark guesstimate with no quality assurance. I’m not really sure, you know? It’s really better to just leave him alone for now. ”

Vini couldn’t help but worry anyway. Even if Dowoon was right—and he probably was—she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Sungjin, if there was anything at all she could do to make it better. Dinner had gone without him showing up, and the mood at the table was somber.

“He’ll be back,” Ayeon assured her as they did the dishes together. “I mean, where’s he gonna go. Right?”

Vini wondered if this what it was like for Sungjin when he’d had to live through the years without her. True, he’d had no reason to worry then, but to accept everyone’s pity must not have settled well with him. In some ways, Sungjin held on to his pride as though it were the only thing he had left when he was so much more than he gave himself credit for. He had kept the vineyard going, and while he blamed himself the current state it was in, Vini could never see him less than some kind of wonderful.

Vini stayed out on the deck long after she’d said goodnight to their houseguests. At first Jimin and Hyerim joined her, but Vini sent them off to bed as soon as noticed them yawning. Jae came out for a peek, but she shooed him away too. Just five more minutes, she bargained with herself. She’d been bargaining with herself for the past hour since the clock struck midnight.

But then, finally, Sungjin came walking down the road.

“Were you waiting long?” he asked, coming up to where she sat.

“No,” Vini scoffed. Beneath the guise of indifference, she checked him for any signs of…anything. Sungjin seemed like himself. A little worn out, and she wasn’t sure if the red in his eyes was just the hour or something else, but all that mattered was that he was home. “I just came out, like, just now. I thought I heard Baba making a fuss.”

He took her hands and held them against his face. “Your hands are cold.”

“My hands are always cold.”

Sungjin warmed her hands in his palms. “Have I not been holding them enough?”

She held back a sniffle. “You missed dinner.”

“I’m sorry, darling.”

“Did you eat? Do you want to eat?”

“I could go for a midnight snack, sure. What do you have?”

Vini pulled him into the kitchen outhouse. “Mrs. Ok drilled me all night after I went to return the the lunchbox she made us today and she found out I haven’t made you kimchi rolls yet. How was I supposed to know I was supposed to do that? So she made me make so many of them while standing over my shoulder. I have never been so terrified in my entire life—”

Sungjin wrapped himself around her, pulling her back against his chest and enveloping her in his embrace. His nose pressed against her temple and he brushed his lips at the arch of her cheek. Vini sighed into him, vanishing into his softness and his warmth, clutching at his arms to keep him there.

“Did you worry a lot?” he murmured in her ear.

“Only because I don’t know where you went and if you were coming back.”

He chuckled quietly. “Why wouldn’t I come home? How far could I possibly go without ever finding my way back to you?”

“I don’t know. Now let me feed you.”

The air around the vineyard was sweet and sticky with the first cluster of grapes weighing down on the vines. Despite the hot summer air, a fresh night breeze, cool to the touch, blew through the hedgerows. A chorus of crickets and cicadas chirped all around them, giving the night the illusion of morning with the buzz of life.

Sungjin sang to the vines as they walked toward the watchtower. He said singing to the vines made them feel loved, and when the vines felt loved, they bore fruit that tasted like your most favorite happy memory.

Vini filled her ears with his dulcet tones. Sungin’s singing was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and the sound wrapped around her like a hug. The rasp of his voice reached deep into her to nudge her loneliness away until all that was left was the lightness of being Sungjin left in his wake.

“How is it?” she asked, “Is it good?”

When Mrs. Ok had given her an earful about the best way to keep Sungjin happy and healthy, Vini came to the epiphany that she didn’t know her husband at all. And as they sat together on the watchtower, the feeling sank in.

“It’s better than the way Mrs. Ok makes them,” Sungjin answered, pushing another roll into his mouth.

“Don’t flatter me,” she shot back, “Mrs. Ok says I’m still lacking.”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. And…you really don’t have to do this.”

Vini pulled her knees up to her chin. “I know that what we are, the way everyone else knows about us, is a lie. But we don’t have to lie to each other. I know I’m not really your wife, but being the other person involved in this secret means you get to rely on me. Maybe our marriage is a lie, but everything else between us doesn’t have to be. All this time I’ve been here, I feel like I still don’t know all that much about you.”

Sungjin smiled despondently to himself. “When I first arrived, everyone was a little scared of me. They didn’t trust me at all. Some of them thought I was here to cause trouble. I think sometimes the elders still think that. That I’m a shameless schemer who conned the old man for the vineyard, that I forced you to marry me to get it. That one of these days I’ll see the vineyard to some business who doesn’t care about the village or the people.”

“But you care so much for the vineyard. You’ve done so much. It’s pretty amazing.”

He shook his head. “It’s not enough.”

“Well,” Vini began, inclining her head to peer into his eyes. “We can start with the easy things. When they see how helplessly and hopelessly in love I am with you, that will make them take back all their words. And then you’ll show them at harvest when you win first place at the grape festival.”

“How’d you know about the festival?” he asked, turning away and hiding the glaze in his eyes.

“Mrs. Ok. Mrs. Choi. Everyone, pretty much. They’re already meeting up at the town hall and everything.”

“Since when were you so close to all the aunties.”

“I don’t have a choice!” Vini pushed her hair back behind her ears. “They keep dragging me to things when they catch me in the market. I can’t be rude to them.”

“What are you doing here?” Sungjin muttered. He looked so confused and pitiful.

“Feeding you dinner. Eat up.”

“No…I mean…Vini, what are you doing _here_?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. At some point, the conversation would be inevitable. Perhaps if she shared her truth, Sungjin would share his. That he would allow her into his closely guarded space and let her share his burdens. “I…I’m a runaway?”

“A runaway.” The way he said it made her feel as though he understood what it meant to run. That he’d been running too.

“I told you I’m a writer,” she began, drawing the words in her mind so that she may say them eloquently. “I write novels. Historical mysteries. Murder.”

“You do look like the murderous type.”

She shoved him playfully in the shoulder. “Well, yeah, I get that a lot.”

“So why are you here?”

Vini shrugged. “I just need to be away from all that for a little bit.”

“Five months is hardly a little bit.”

Yet she wondered if five months was enough to truly disappear and begin again. Some mornings when she woke up, Vini almost believed that this, Sungjin and the vineyard, had always been her life and the person she used to be was nothing but a bad dream. It all felt so long ago and far away, and thought Vini would never forget she could pretend it never happened. So long as she stayed here. Like this. With Sungjin.

“Is this your way of getting rid of me because you don’t have the emotional capacity to tell me to my face that my kimchi rolls aren’t that good at all?”

Sungjin didn’t laugh at her attempt at humour. “What’s really going on?”

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she would have to face the truth of the matter eventually. She just didn’t think it would be like this, in the middle of the vineyard with Sungjin refusing to answer her own inquiries.

“My last book was a little different from my other works.” Vini turned her face toward the velvet sky. Out in the city, she barely saw the stars but here she felt as though she saw them all. Tiny pinpricks dotted the heavens like a connect the dots game. As though Vini could make sense of her shame if she were to stare at the stars long enough. “I thought I could, in a way, reinvent myself? I don’t know why I thought that. Maybe because for the longest time I thought I had to be a certain way to be accepted in all the literary circles. That I had to write a certain way and write about certain things in order to be taken seriously. So I did that. And I was invited to the big leagues. It was…it was unreal. So many people doubted me because of my age, because…because I’m a woman…and because of my background. They liked to say I didn’t have the grit. But I worked so hard.

“Anyway, at some point they accepted me but it always felt like acceptance but with reservations. Like they were always just waiting for me to make a mistake. One misstep and it’s all they needed to take me down. Because I wasn’t exactly humble and subservient to the praise. I owned it. Maybe that was my first mistake.”

“If you’re good then you’re good, what’s so wrong with that?”

“Because I’m not supposed to know I’m good.” Neither was she supposed to know that she was beautiful nor intellectual, and all other things Vini used to believe herself to be. “Maybe I really wasn’t as good as I thought I was.”

“That’s hard to believe.”

“Don’t flatter me,” she said, “I know better now. All the things they said about me and my new book, I’ve heard it all I think. They’ve made it so all I could do was disappear.”

Her heart pounded in her chest and her breaths came short and shallow at the memory, and Vini took a deep breath to will away the image of the laughing faces and the pointed fingers, and the way the walls had closed in on her.

Sungjin pulled her into his lap and cradled her against his chest. “Then disappear here with me. I’ll keep you safe. Nothing will hurt you here.”

Vini vanished into his kiss. She could rest here, in the comfort of Sungjin’s embrace. Maybe she could even heal and her heart could mend breathing him in. Vini was putting all she was in the palms of his hands, and she had never felt more safe.

Like all her life she had been searching and searching and now she had finally made it home.


	13. Chapter 13

Months ago, Sungjin could never have imagined the way Vini fit into this life but at the moment it was all he could think of. What with the way she looked so at home surrounded by the unripe clusters of grapes and the people who worked there. Unlike the Vini who had first arrived here, this one was generous with her laughs and her smiles, charming all the uncles and aunties, making it so her presence bloomed like the flowers that eventually became fruit.

And people, Sungjin mused, were a lot like plants—give them enough space, root them in good soil, and shower them with enough water, and they grew toward the light.

“So the rumours really are true,” Sarang said to him, coming up next to him. “You did get married.”

Sungjin returned his attention to the refractometer in his hands. “The levels are consistent with the yearly averages from the past three years. What am I missing?”

“I didn’t believe it at first.”

Three years wasn’t a long time; that was about as long as it took for a new vine to start bearing fruit. When one worked the same vineyard for as long as he had, three years went by in a flash. Seeing Sarang again after so long brought Sungjin back to the memory as though it was only yesterday that she was wrapping up her dissertation and he was going down on one knee to propose marriage.

The talk about Sungjin having a secret sweetheart somewhere in one city or another wasn’t entirely false. They had met at the university. Sungjin had been a teaching assistant while working under the Agriculture department when Sarang had taken his class on plant physiology. From then on, they had sought each other out, finding a comfortable median between them as they observed both the minuscule and greater machinations of plant life. It had been natural and easy, and Sungjin had not been able to see a life that didn’t include her in his future.

Until Sarang, herself, removed herself from his narrative.

Sungjin lifted the laboratory report readout and tried to make sense of the data. For years, he had been monitoring the vineyard, careful and exact in his work, and yet he couldn’t make it right.

“You know,” Sarang began again. She looked the same, for the most part. Same long hair, same delicate frame, her pale skin and her doll-like eyes. Sungjin remembered her face, but he couldn’t recall the feeling. “The position at the faculty and the lab is still yours if you want it. I know Professor Lee hasn’t stopped sending you invitations and job offers. Why won’t you come back?”

“I can’t leave the vineyard,” he said.

“Of course, you can.”

It was the same old argument they’d had for more times than Sungjin could count, and he was beyond tired of it. “You can tell your students they can conduct their soil sampling and their other experiments at the far side of the vineyard. Just keep clear of the original vines.”

“You’re not beholden here,” she said, taking the lab report from his hands. “You’ve repaid your perceived debts long ago. I don’t think the old man wanted—”

“What would you know about what the old man wanted?” Sungjin cut her off quietly but even then he couldn’t quell the censure in his voice.

“He would have wanted a better life for you,” she answered back, the ice in her voice a familiar memory.

“And you would know exactly what a better life should look like for me, wouldn’t you?”

“Sungjin.” Sarang reached out and touched his arm. “Don’t do this.”

He stepped away from her touch, and the squealing and the cheering two hedgerows down distracted him from Sarang long enough to forget what he was about to say to her. Sungjin followed the noise, shaking his head at the ruckus they were causing. Even from this distance, he could pick out the source: Jae, Jimin, Ayeon, Hyerim, and Vini. Somewhere in the lower registers, he heard Dowoon’s voice.

“What’s going on here?” Sungjin planted his hands on his hips and pulled his face into a mock scowl. “Didn’t I tell you not to play around here?”

“My husband!” Vini stepped away from the group—the sight of her wearing one of his plaid shirts striking him like lighting—and held out her palm. “Look what Dowoon found.”

A grape, freshly plucked from the cluster, precociously ripe. “That’s…not a good sign.”

“Ah, Boss,” Dowoon said from behind the group, “We took care of it. Don’t worry. This isn’t my first season.”

Vini came up to him, searching his eyes. “How do you think it would taste like?”

“Try it?”

“What if it’s sour?” she whispered.

“You won’t know until you bite into it.”

Vini pressed the berry against her kiss-shaped mouth, the deep violet contrasting with the pink of her lips. Her eyes haven’t left his, and the more she stared the more excited he grew. Whatever it was she was doing, Sungjin was entranced by it. Utterly bewitched by this woman, by the pieces of her puzzle that he had yet to uncover.

He didn’t care that they stood out in the middle of the day surrounded by all these people. Sungjin was unable to look away or school his features into the mask of indifference he had so often wore. This was a game Vini had been playing with him all season—the coy looks, the heated touches.

Slowly, she pushed the grape into her mouth and bit halfway into the fruit. Her tongue caught the nectar on her bottom lip, and his gaze was transfixed there. And then a teasing smile.

“Sweet,” she said, offering him the other half of the grape.

“Is it?” His hand slid to the back of her head and tangled into her hair, and his lips fell unto her lips. This time he didn’t hold back, claiming her mouth and thrusting his tongue just so to taste the burst of flavour.

His arm came around the small of her back, lifting her up as her legs instinctively straddled his waist. The fight between passion and propriety had a declared winner long before the bout had begun, and Sungjin gave into the power Vini held over him.

“What was that for?” she breathed.

Nudging her nose with his, Sungjin said, “You’re right. It is sweet.”

She pushed the remaining grape half into her mouth. “You’re going to scandalise the whole vineyard.”

Slowly, he slid her back down to her feet. “You already did that when you came walking through the boundary lines.”

“That was an entrance not a scandal.”

“You’ve caused quite the chaos.”

She smiled drunkenly at him. “You should get back to work.”

“It’s my vineyard,” he rasped.

“I believe it’s _our_ vineyard,” she teased. “And I’m ordering you back to work. The professor’s waiting for you.”

It took all his willpower for Sungjin to step away from her and let her go.

Vini kissed the tip of his nose. “Will you be home for dinner?”

“Yes.”

  
When he kissed Vini this time—just as they were winding down for bed—Sungjin spent no preamble and skipped the light and slow preliminaries. He kissed her with the neediness and the yearning of a man starved for touch and affection. Vini sat astride him, her knees planted firmly on either side of his hips. The more she let him kiss her and touch her, the more Sungjin gave up control and he surrendered to her completely.

Vini arched into him, as though trusting that he knew what she needed. Did he know? Could he possibly make her happy here? Sungjin pushed the thought away and pulled her shirt over her head. With Vini bared to him, he stared breathless at the skin he had thought of touching and tasting. When he finally touched her, it was gentle like the brush of a leaf, and she sighed into him.

As the continued to kiss, his touches grew bolder and her fingernails dug into his skin from over the fabric of his clothes. Vini’s lips kissed his ear, his cheek, and his neck as her hands lifted his shirt and threw it off to the side. She squeezed her legs around him, and pressed herself against his erection, and it did something wild to him.

Hands on her hips, he pulled her even closer as his mouth wandered her exposed skin. _Mine_, he thought. Her fingers dove into his hair, holding him tight and close to her. Again and again, she teased his hardness. Vini’s soft exhales and honest moans almost sounded like a confession to him. _Yours_.

Her breath caught. “Sungjin.”

Sungjin raised his head and waited. Silently, he begged the heavens that she wasn’t going to ask him to stop. Because then he would have to. Because he wasn’t the kind of man who would continue.

“What is it?”

Her nails scratched the back of his neck, played with the ends of his hair. “Before we keep going…”

“Keep going,” he groaned, “You want to keep going?”

“Yes, of course,” she breathed. “Condoms. I was going to ask.”

He blinked at her.

Right.

Yes.

That.

Her face broke into an almost desperate plea. “Please tell me you have them somewhere in this house.”

“I…”

Vini dropped her head into his shoulder and breathed out a small laugh.

“I really had no reason to…”

“Rock-Paper-Scissors who goes and ask Jae?”

“No,” he groaned. “No, that is…no. _No_.”

Her soft puffs of laughter on his skin did not help. “Even if I did have the patience to wait for youto—or me, I just might go do it myself—go all the way downtown, the pharmacy’s closed isn’t it?”

Briefly, Sungjin considered the idea that he might break into JYP’s pharmacy. He could probably do it. He might even get away with it. Alternatively, he could break into the health centre. The probability that the clinic wasn’t locked at night was a better bet than the pharmacy. Also it was closer.

He breathed out a humourless laugh.

Sungjin was willing to commit crimes for this.

Who had be become?

Vini cupped his face and kissed him again, the kind of kiss he wasn’t expecting. Hot and heady. Her hands came down his body and toyed at the strings of his sweatpants.

Sungjin caught her wrists. “What are you doing?”

As much as he wanted her, he wasn’t going to have unprotected sex with her.

Vini nibbled at his lower lip. “Being creative. Improvising. I’m not going to sleep like this. And neither are you.”

Her hand slipped into his sweatpants and gripped him, and he gave a startled gasp. And then he moved against her, trailing kisses across her skin. He wanted her. Needed her. Needed to sink into her heat and her sweetness. She wrapped him in her scent, in the smell of summer and grapes that clung to her skin. All of his yearning had concentrated at that one moment and he came in her hand.

And then she was beneath him, completely bared to him. One by one he made true on the promises he made himself, and the unspoken promises he made her. His hand found her hand, and he curled their fingers together, kissed their rings even though that part of their union was a lie.

Before either of them could make anything of it, he slid a hand between her thighs and teased her as he discovered how to make her come aflame. He took his cue from the lovely sounds she made and the way she arched and buckled against him. When she asked for more, he gave more. He would give her everything.

His fingers caressed the heat of her until her hands gripped the sheets and her breathing became rough and needy. Then, of course, she _helped_ him. Her hand came down over his to nudge his finger inside her and he slid into her wet heat. Vini rolled her hips against him, and he gave her the sensations she sought. Her own pursuit of pleasure sent a thrill down his spine.

Sungjin drowned in her kiss before he could speak the words he knew once said out loud he could never take back. Tender words he had not spoken, not once, not ever. Not the way he felt them in this very moment. Vini shuddered under him, trembling inside his embrace and melting into his skin. He pressed his forehead against hers, his heart swelling with emotion. One last time before sleep claimed them, he pressed his lips against her brow.

Could he do it? Win her heart and truly make her his wife?


	14. Chapter 14

The question in her head bounced insistently all day, but Vini could not find the perfect moment, to the right person, to ask about it.

Who was Sarang?

All Sungjin had to say about Sarang was that they knew each other from university long ago, but Vini doubted the qualifier “long ago” for several reasons. Sarang was well-known in the village, Mrs. Shim was falling over her own feet fawning over the professor and pushing her granddaughter to spend some time with Sarang so, in Mrs. Shim’s words, the kid could learn a thing or two about having a good future ahead. Vini liked the kid enough, Jihyun was a sweet kid who liked to read and keep to herself but her grandmother kept pushing her to do everything else.

“She seems like a nice person,” Vini said, hopping onto a bamboo deck at the village square. Tonight, JYP was hosting a thanksgiving party for the coming harvest season. The grapes were growing prettily on the vines, and the days were spent looking forward to the Grape Festival. The square was filling up with people bringing in dishes of their specialties and rice cakes and other desserts.

Jihyun shrugged and continued reading her book.

“It looks fun, what the professor does. No?”

Jihyun’s lips twisted into an expression that very clearly communicated the sentiment: _Seriously?_

Seriously. Vini was digging up dirt on Sarang from an eight year old kid.

And given the way Wonpil was looking at her, Vini deserved what was coming. Mrs. Shim swooped right in and collected her grandchild, leaving Vini a judgey sniff and a face that looked like it smelled something bad.

“Wonder what she has against me,” Vini joked as Wonpil took the space Jihyun vacated.

“I don’t know,” Wonpil said, raising an eyebrow. “I guess Mrs. Shim doesn’t want her granddaughter associating with city women who sneak out to the back of the aubergine plots to make out with her husband.”

Vini stifled a laugh. “You know, for someone who only comes to visit the vineyard once or twice a week, you sure know a lot.”

“I’m an elementary school teacher. I am in the business of dealing with information. It’s literally in my job description.”

“You mean you know all the gossip from the moms and grandmas at the PTA?”

Wonpil pursed his lips. “It means maybe you should pick a spot other than behind the aubergines. The image is almost poetic, I’m sure. But you almost gave Mrs. Cho a heart attack when she walked in on you two. You know the people here can still be really old-fashioned and conservative.”

“In my defence.” Vini lifted a finger to make a point. “Mrs. Cho makes it sound like we were having sex behind the aubergines. We were just kissing.”

“Uh-huh. Just kissing.”

“Maybe it got a little, uh, passionate. What, I’m hor—” She caught herself and edited mid-sentence. “—monal. That’s a thing.” And then Sungjin just had to outdo himself every other night, learning her quickly and growing bolder with his explorations.

She shook her head, laughing. That…didn’t make it any better.

Wonpil rolled his eyes. “You were going to say you’re horny for your husband, weren’t you?”

Vini shrugged. “He’s kinda hot. You might have noticed.”

Wonpil laughed under his breath. “Is that why you’re interrogating my student about Professor Sarang Park?”

“Her last name is Park?”

Wonpil tilted his head curiously at her. “Didn’t you know?”

She thumbed her wedding band unconsciously.

Sungjin Park and Sarang Park.

_S.Park x S. Park_.

Whatever it was she was feeling, she couldn’t find the words for them. Couldn’t make sense of the thoughts swirling in her mind. Vini crushed the urge to pull the ring off her finger and throw it down the river. She hated the sight of it now, just when she was getting used to it. Just when she was almost believing in it.

“Who is she?” Vini asked, holding Wonpil down with a firm gaze. “To Sungjin.”

“I think you should really ask Sungjin about that, don’t you think?”

In the middle of the square, JYP and Mrs. Ok were teaching Jae, Hyerim, Ayeon, and Jimin how to sing traditional songs and some trot hits. Jae hugged his guitar closer as he tried not to laugh out loud at JYP’s performance. The town leader was truly one of a kind, and he stared belting out ballads and contemporary classics one after the other. Mrs. Ok was not to be outdone, and she kept up, bragging about the new music her son (who was currently in the army) had taught her before he left.

“I did ask him,” Vini answered after a moment’s thought. “He said they knew each other from school. Long ago. I don’t think it was that long ago. Or they’ve known each other a long time, I’m not dead I can see and feel things still. There’s history there, but I guess I’m not entitled to that information, am I?”

“I’m sorry,” Wonpil said, “That sucks. I wish I could tell you, but it’s better if you hear the story from Sungjin. Because he is your husband.”

She caught it, of course, the way Wonpil emphasised the word _husband_ as though…“You know, don’t you.”

“Know what?” Wonpil blinked innocently. “Is there something I’m supposed to know—er, not know?”

Vini shot him a look.

“I’m a big fan, by the way,” he said, grinning at Jae imitating JYP’s singing. “I even saw the series. I like what they did with the book adaptation, and then I realised it was because you were also c0-showrunning the thing. Must be nice. Although…I’m sorry about what happened to you. That must have been traumatic. I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

Vini was strangely calm about this revelation. So, Wonpil knew about her. Not just her career but also that she wasn’t married to Sungjin. She released a long breath, feeling an odd sense of relief. Like she had been carrying a huge weight on her shoulders while being followed by a dark shadow, and for this moment at least she was free of it. She’d been pretending for months, it was nothing to the years Sungjin had on this lie.

“Don’t worry,” Wonpil soothed, “You don’t have to worry about this. Not from me.”

“Honestly, I’m a bit…glad. I feel…relieved. Is that weird?”

Wonpil pressed his lips in a line. “You know, just because there’s limited service this side of the village doesn’t mean people won’t find out eventually. There’s, like, a bunch of computer shops downtown.”

“I don’t know if that’s a warning or a threat.”

“Honestly, I don’t know what it is either. But I don’t want Sungjin to get into trouble. You and I both know how much the vineyard means to him. It’s his life. Without it, I don’t know what he’ll do.”

Once, some time ago, Vini said the same thing about her craft. That she might go mad if she couldn’t write or make up stories. She hand hinged her entire person and her entire future on her career as a writer. She wrote like she was running out of time. Like she needed it to survive. And in a way, she did.

But these past few months, she was learning new things about herself.

If the worst were to happen, she held on to the belief that Sungjin would survive it. They would weather through the pain together. However, if there was any way at all that she could protect him from going through what she had, Vini would give up writing completely.

Even if it cost her her future, she didn’t care.

Vini would protect Sungjin’s happiness at all cost.

“Does Sungjin know?” Wonpil asked.

“I don’t think he does,” Vini answered thoughtfully. “Not the full run of it anyway.”

Wonpil kept his eyes on the performance, at JYP and Mrs. Ok teaching Jae and Hyerim this dance. “Then maybe that’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Vini noticed the visiting students researchers at once because they were sending her curious looks and whispering among themselves. Even if they didn’t read her novels, they would have come across the video anyway. It was difficult not to. When your fifteen minutes of infamy came with a viral video, it was difficult to just shake it off.

But then another newcomer caught her attention. Brian walked in, looking far more casual this time in a plain white shirt and jeans. Past Vini would have been all over that by now, but Present Vini only felt panic because Brian Kang showing up was a threat to Future Vini’s life with Sungjin.

Brian stopped to ask Ayeon for…directions? Vini’s whereabouts? Directions to Vini’s whereabouts? It didn’t matter. Brian looked up and their eyes met.

“That’s another complication,” Wonpil said, far more cheerfully than what was acceptable. “You should deal with that.”

Vini pushed herself off the deck and met Brian halfway. It took a while, what with random uncles and aunties stopping her to ask her if she’s eaten, why she’s not eating, and to offer her food and drinks. When finally she got to Brian, he had his own overflowing plate of home cooked delicacies. As well as an earful on how handsome he is, among other things.

“I love this place,” he said, his feline eyes sparkling with delight. “Oh, and I have the best news for you.”

Vini’s stomach dropped. “Now is not a really good time.”

“On the contrary,” Brian said, grinning. “Now is the perfect time. Go grab a plate and sit with me. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“We’ve got nothing to discuss.”

Brian’s face had this quality to it that whenever the expression on his face shifted, it came without warning and every shift, no matter on which side of the spectrum, came with whiplash. His grin pulled into a stern press of his lips, and the light in his dimmed into a severe stare. He put the plate down on a nearby surface. “Everything’s under control now. I fixed it. You can come home now.”

“Brian…I don’t want to go back.”

“That’s nonsense.” He glanced around. “Is there anywhere we can talk?”

“Here is fine.”

He raised a brow. “In the middle of all these people?”

“My answer stays the same. I’m not going back.”

Brian inhaled sharply. “Didn’t you hear what I said? I said I have everything under control. You can come back. You don’t have to worry about anything. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I won’t let that happen.”

It should have touched her, the way Brian looked out for her, professional relationship notwithstanding. In a way, it still did. Her heart swelled, but just as soon as the feeling lifted her up it yanked her back down.

“I shouldn’t have let that happen to begin with,” he continued, looking pained. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t have stopped it right there.”

“I know,” Vini muttered. “I know you tried to stop it. I know you did everything you could and more than that. But Brian, I like it here.”

“This isn’t your life.”

“It can be. I am getting used to this life.”

Brian sighed. “How can you be happy here like this?”

There were far too many ways, but Vini didn’t very much feel like explaining herself to him. Not that Brian would hold that against her. She swept a glance around the room, at the way the elders were sending them curious looks, and at the way the visiting researchers were observing them as though one of their specimens.

“I hope you’re rethinking that thing about finding somewhere else we can talk,” Brian said.

“I’m waiting for Sungjin.” It sounded like an excuse because it was.

“I’m sure someone will let him know. I have so much to tell you. So much good news.” He reached out of her shoulders. “I want to see you happy again. Doing what you love. Don’t you miss it?”

“I haven’t really thought about it.” Maybe in the middle of the afternoon, right in the middle of her tuning out on the repetitiveness of the tasks, her mind would wander off and paint a picture so vivid she itched to make it concrete with words.

But life, much unlike a book, had no edit button. Once a chapter was written, she couldn’t go back and change it. She could only go back and reread it, bookmark the page and hope that with every reread the pain would hurt less.

“Then think about it now because it’s gonna be exciting once you get back. Whatever it is that’s keeping you here, I’m sure we can find a way out of it. We’ll make a way if we have to. Come home, Vini. Come home with me.”


	15. Chapter 15

To wit, Sungjin has never lost a staring match but at that moment he was feeling the tug of defeat drag him to the floor in a dishonourable heap.

In the end, he tore his eyes away from the box of condoms on the rack.

He put in another two boxes of muscle patches into his snack purchases, but the condoms still mocked him. Rather than presumptuous, buying the condoms would be the responsible thing to do. It was only right. Besides, he was an adult. He was a married man. There was nothing shameful in the purchase even if he wasn’t a lawfully wedded man.

Heavens help him. If he didn’t used to believe that lust could drive a man wild, he was definitely a believer now.

So why was he wearing a face mask and a ball cap? In this sweltering heat?

That was besides the point.

“Just these?” JYP asked from behind the register.

Sungjin nodded stiffly, angling his face away from their town leader.

“We missed you at the party last night,” JYP said, scanning his items.

Sungjin didn’t answer. Maybe if he looked confused, JYP might realise he wasn’t supposed to recognise Sungjin standing there. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

“You know what.” JYP reached out for a big box of condoms from the rack behind him and added it to Sungjin’s bag. “Here. Consider this a bonus. A service. A thank you for being the most hardworking man this village has ever seen.”

Sungjin sighed in defeat and paid for his purchases. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“It must be so nice,” JYP said as Sungjin walked off. “For the nights to be less lonely.”

Sungjin breathed in relief and pulled down his mask as soon as left the pharmacy. He had been stuck at the lab late last night, and he’d had to leave earlier than usual that morning. It took him all his strength to disentangle himself from his wife who had clung to him in her sleep all night. He would make up for it—he’d promised her. Tonight and all the nights they would share from this day forward, Sungjin would make up for all thing he lacked.

Two steps out into the road, and Sungjin stopped in his tracks. Brian Kang stood across the street. Recognition flashed in Brian’s eyes, and he raised a hand in greeting. Sungjin bowed curtly, dreading the look in the other man’s eyes.

“Sungjin, right?” Brian said, crossing the street. “Do you mind if we talk? It’s about Vini.”

Sungjin did not barely survive a difficult conversation with Sarang just to live through another one with Brian, but such was his life. They sat across each other on a small rickety table at an eatery-slash-snack tent. The smells should have been enough to comfort Sungjin, but he felt nothing but dread. So he sat there, the bag from the pharmacy crumpled by his feet as he watched the steam rise and curl from the pots on top of the portable stoves. Sweat matted his shirt to his back, but it had less to do with heat and more with the stress.

Brian ordered fishcakes, sausages, various sticks of this and that, a plate of rolls, and some soup. Not to be outdone, Sungjin ordered a similar number of items, some rice, some rolls, some chicken with ginseng. He was going to need the fortitude.

“I spoke to Vini last night,” Brian said, “I’ve come to take her home.”

Instead of an answer, Sungjin pushed more food into his mouth. He might end up saying something he would regret, so he took his time chewing. Brian wasn’t simply someone Vini worked with, despite what she had said about him. Or anyway, Brian didn’t see Vini as someone he just worked with. On some level of consciousness, Sungjin knew this day would come. One day, Vini had to return to the life she had left behind. And what of him?

“She seems convinced that this is where she belongs.”

“And you don’t agree?”

Brian took a big bite of fishcakes and chewed thoughtfully. After he swallowed, he said, “I think that running away from her life in the city is good for a while, but at some point she has to come back to it.”

“You think that.”

“I think I know what’s best for her. I think you would want what’s best for her, too.”

Sungjin shook his head and gulped down his water. “Vini is well capable of making her own decisions. I’m not keeping her here. I’m not forcing her to do anything. I think you know that you can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do either.”

“I’m not saying her life back home is better here,” Brian said, “I don’t get to judge that. Whatever it is she found here, I’m glad if it helps her heal but she can’t stay here. She has to face her problems. She has to come back, if only to deal with the loose ends she left when she upped and fled. If she wants to come back here, that’s her decision. But she has responsibilities and she knows I can’t keep fielding them off for long.”

Sungjin didn’t like the way Brian was seeing through him. That Brian knew Sungjin didn’t know anything at all. Not Vini’s life before she appeared at the vineyard, not the life she was running from, and not the life she had to come back to after all was said and done.

“What I really think,” Brian said, leaning his elbow onto the table, “Is that all this is a distraction from the truth. She’s in pain and the only way she thinks she can deal with it is to live a life that has absolutely nothing to do with the things that caused her pain. When she’s out here, she’s nothing like the person she was. She’s not an award-winning novelist, not a bestseller, not a writer. Has she even picked up a book while she’s here? BecauseI doubt she’s been writing. And that’s fair, I’ve seen her through her worst bouts of writer’s block and the all highs and lows of a creative. But if you can positively and absolutely without a shadow of a doubt tell me that she’s happy here then I will rest my case.

“But I have to see it with my own eyes. Because I’ve her when she’s happy. When she’s riding on a high of her own making. When she’s lost in the euphoria of a project, when she’s celebrating having created, when you’re the one giving her the news and the stories of all the people who are just as involved and in love with her words.

“I’m glad she’s healing here, but there’s only so much space you can give a person before you’re just enabling self-sabotage.”

Perhaps the worst part of this conversation was how much sense Brian was making. That Brian was right. About Vini. About her future. About the role Sungjin should be playing in her life.

Sungjin raised his eyes and spoke in firm sentences. “It’s Vini’s life. She gets to decide how she lives it. I appreciate your concern, and I’m sure she appreciates your concern and everything that you’ve done for her, but there’s only so much you can do for her. In the end, it’s her choice. I won’t stand in her way. That’s the best I can tell you.”

Brian nodded. “That would be enough.”

But would Sungjin ever be enough for Vini to come back?

Or would she realize that, upon returning to her Real Life, Brian’s love was grounded on something more, something deeper, something not even Sungjin could begin to question. That Vini would see that and make her choice based on more than a few months pretending to be someone else. When the novelty of the vineyard faded, what else would there be left?

This morning, Sungjin had met with Sarang and stated his piece. That he could only work with her in a professional capacity, that it would take time before they could even consider being friends again. He had hoped that by establishing this boundary, he could draw that line and make it so he could heal from her, too.

Sungjin could hope all he wished, but in the end it wasn’t just his future on the line.

  
When Sungjin returned to the house, he found Vini pacing around his room.

“Vini?”

She continued on, muttering absently to herself.

Carefully, he took another step closer. “Vini?”

“What? Oh.” Vini blinked and shook her head. “Sorry. I was thinking. You’re here. Hi.”

“Hi?”

Vini walked up to him and pulled him down for a kiss. “I figured out why Jae calls you professor.”

“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a PhD in agriculture? And all the other things…” She waved her hand at the mess of boxes he had shoved under the tables and at the bottoms of shelves.

“It’s not really that important,” he said, “They’re just necessary steps to taking care of the vineyard.” The old man had put him through school, convinced him to keep going, told him it was important for a good future. A future he would be proud of.

“It’s kind of impressive? I mean, you’ve always been amazing, but this is…something else. I need a better word than amazing.”

He pulled her in for another kiss. “Is that what you’ve been doing all afternoon?”

“Only after I came back from the vineyard. Also, I found something.”

He didn’t like the sound of that.

Vini picked up a framed photo from the desk.

Sungjin palmed his face. “I can explain.”

“Really?” Vini turned the photo to take a good look and then flipped it over so he could see. “Because I’d love an explanation as to why there exists a picture wherein my high school graduation portrait and your…ID photo are badly photoshopped to a stock photo of a couple.”

“Actually, I don’t have a good enough explanation for that. I…I don’t know. It was a terrible idea then, but one that was absolutely necessary. I swear—”

She laughed so prettily, Sungjin was at a loss.

“Okay. That’s it. We need to take more photos together. Fill up these empty walls.”

It was a vision of a future Sungjin didn’t want to hope for lest it broke his heart. He took her hand. When Vini first arrived, her hands had been soft and delicate. Now they were hewn with work. “Are you happy here?”

Her eyes grew. “Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?”

“Are you?”

She laid her hand on his chest. “I am happy here.”

The words should have given him joy, but his emotions puzzled him. He ached for her when they were apart, and he ached for her still when they were together. Vini admitting to her happiness here, with him, should have made him fell triumphant.

Instead, he felt lost.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Sungjin smiled softly and covered her hand on his heart with his. He gazed at their rings, at the lie that kept them together for this long. “Let’s go camping.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

There wasn’t a reason, other than he wanted to take her away for a little bit. They had things they needed to talk about, things they needed time and distance away from this place to view objectively. And he simply wanted a vacation, or anyway the closest thing to a vacation that he could give her.

“What do you think?” he murmured, his thumb caressing her knuckles. So much has happened these past few weeks all Sungjin wanted was time away with Vini. Just the two of them away from all this.

“What about all the work we still need to do?”

Sungjin laughed. “Dowoon can take care of it. There’s only covering the grapes with the packaging so the birds and the bugs don’t get to them first. It should be fine.”

“There’s more work than that. Are you sure? According to Dowoon, it’s a critical time before harvest.”

He kissed her nose. “It’ll be fine. It’s one night and one day. The vineyard won’t come to ruin if we take a break for one day. What’s really worrying you?”

Vini averted her gaze. “I suppose we could take a break.”

Gently, he tilted her chin up and caught her gaze, “My darling, wife. What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never gone camping before.”

It wasn’t the entire truth but for now it would have to do.

“Just leave it to me,” he said. “I’ll take care of everything.”


	16. Chapter 16

After hiking what seemed like the entirety of the day, Vini and Sungjin finally made camp by the edge of the river. The woods gave way to a clearing, and the trickling rush of the river joined the sounds of the rustling trees and the sound of birds and other wildlife. The rocks and the rough sand, and the wild grass that grew stubbornly between them, crunched under her boots as she searched for a shaded patch to rest in while Sungjin pitched the tent and made a pit for the campfire. A part of her was willing to volunteer for whatever he might need assistance with, but a stronger part of her was hurting and confused.

Unconsciously, Vini thumbed her wedding band until the skin around the ring was red and irritated. She couldn’t stop the slew of thoughts in her mind, of all the scenarios she couldn’t help but imagine, the cascade of scenes that came one after the other, each less forgiving than the last. Furthermore, Brian said she could come back home. Safely, this time. Without worry.

Vini would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her old life. While this life was fulfilling in its own right, it wasn’t the life she worked to achieve. True, if Sungjin asked her to stay, Vini would not even think twice and say yes. True, it would mean giving up everything she had ever known and fully becoming this person—Sungjin’s wife, and perhaps the mother of their children, and they would spend the rest of their lives at the vineyard. Also true, all this, idyllic as it all was, was not Vini’s life.

She was losing touch of who she was.

Sungjin dropped down to his haunches in front of her. “Are you suddenly regretting all this?”

He was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Vini reached forward to push his fringe off his face. His hair really was getting too long. “I’ve never gone camping before. I’m a little out of my depth here.”

His lips quirked into a sad smile. “I meant marrying me.”

“We’re not really married.” She said it just above a whisper, afraid the trees might hear and spread the word.

Sungjin went on one knee and took her left hand, caressed her knuckles once before intertwining their fingers together. “Nothing is keeping you here,” he said, “You can come and go as you please. I would never dream of getting in your way.”

“If you even think that’s possible then you don’t know me at all.”

“Maybe I don’t you after all. I know the Vini who can’t say no to the aunties, and the Vini who likes to put dead leaves into Dowoon’s hair, and the Vini who can’t give Baba a bath without getting soaked and dragged around the dirt herself, but I don’t the Vini before that.”

She covered her face with her free hand. “You’d think that Vini is shallow and superficial and spoiled.”

He took her other hand away from her face and curled their fingers together. “How could I ever think that of you?”

“Because it’s true?” At some point, Vini grew tired of hearing the words she just gave up and believed in them. It took too much effort proving otherwise, and anyway, she had a core team of people who cushioned her fall it really didn’t matter whether or not the words were true or not. Most days, Vini didn’t know what to believe.

“Someone like that wouldn’t survive a day out here. You’ve been nothing but a good person.”

“I did blackmail you into letting me stay here.”

“That part is really my fault. Sometimes I think you should have just told everybody what I did.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I would never do that to you—”

Sungjin tugged her closer, like he couldn’t help himself, like he had to kiss her and touch her. Desperately. Vini felt the same, and she clung to him, kissed him with lips and tongue and teeth. And she was not to be denied. She pressed closer, struggling to vanquish the space between them.

Kissing wasn’t enough. She needed more. This time she would have everything.

Sungjin slipped his hands under her knees and dragged her forward and hooked her legs around his waist. In one power move, he stood up lifting her with him. If her lips weren’t occupied, she’d have cried out in triumph, but Vini was more than happy to keep kissing him along the way to the tent.

Gently, Sungjin put her down, crouching between her knees as he took her foot and undid the laces of her boots. Vini started on her other boot, her fingers too numb, too shaky to make any real progress.

“Sungjin,” she groaned, “get this off me.”

As soon as Sungjin tugged off her first boot, he set on to undoing the other one. At the same time, Vini pulled reached for the hem of her shirt. “No,” Sungjin growled.

Vini sucked in a breath.

“I want to do it,” Sungjin said, setting her boots carefully outside the tent. Even in the midst of passion he was still like this. “Let me do it.”

So Vini surrendered, scrambling to sit as Sungjin pulled off his boots and left them outside the tent. He crawled inside, the breadth of him taking just enough space, but the feel of him filled up everything in between. Her shirt was off, folded into a neat square to their side. Followed by her pants. She lay on top of the sleeping mat in her underthings, and he peeled those off her too until she lay there bared to him. It was hardly the first time he would see her naked, but this time felt different. She felt raw and exposed.

And he was making sure she was comfortable, arranging the mat just so and making sure not one part of her body was dangling off the soft beddings.

Vini lifted herself up other elbows to watch him standing on his knees and stripping down to nothing. She stared at him, rapt. Loved the way every part of him was hewn from the vineyard. His hands were carved by work, and so were the muscles that flexed beneath his skin. Sungjin wasn’t marble, he wasn’t drawn like a statue of some god, and yet he was better. Better because when Vini ran her hands over his chest, the heat of him reminded her of the morning sun, the way the light touched the dew on the grapes and the vines and brought everything to life.

“Let me do everything,” he whispered into a kiss, “I want to do everything for you. I want to make it good.”

He kissed a trail down her body, planting seeds of pleasure with every openmouthed touch of his lips. Vini could only sigh and mewl into the thick summer air. His big hands framed her waist, and then he was dragging his fingers lower, touching her where she ached, spreading her wide and exploring her. She bucked and gasped against his hand, writhed against him seeking more pressure and sensation. But he was a tease, and he took his time with her, patiently drawing her out until he has her on edge. And then his mouth was on her, and her fingers tangled in his hair keeping him in place. Resigned to the pleasure, her legs quivered around him, and he pressed a kiss on the sensitive skin on her inner thigh. His fingers worked harder and his tongue licked and kissed, until she broke apart in a cry that rang around the tent.

Vini’s back was barely making its way back down the mat when Sungjin kissed his way back up her body, aligning himself perfectly into her. He reached into his backpack just as Vini was reaching into hers, and they both laughed when they returned to each other with the same packet in their hands.

“I came prepared this time,” Vini laughed, “Just in case.”

Sungjin curved over her, crawling atop her and kissing her again and again. “Are you ready?”

She smiled a wicked smile. “I feel like I should be asking you that question. I want this. I want you.”

He nodded once and did the responsible thing. Vini parted her thighs so he could nestle between her. They fit together just right, and she couldn’t wait for him to claim her rough and hard. He raised held himself up on his arms, hesitating.

“What is it?” she asked, pushing his hair off his sweat-dotted forehead.

His eyes, so clear and honest, looked down at her. “I don’t want to crush you.”

This man, he was so careful with her it made her heart ache.

She gazed up at him, her chest bursting with emotion. “You won’t.”

And then he pushed inside her and it was everything and so much more.

Vini cried out, digging her fingers into his back and tensing against him. She couldn’t help it. All her self-control was shoved out the tent and drowned in the river.

Sungjin cursed under his breath. “Am I hurting you?”

“No,” she breathed, “Keep going. Please.”

He cared so much about her comfort, she couldn’t bring herself to admit to him that it’s simply been a while since she’d had this sort of pleasure thrumming through her. It did hurt a bit, she felt so full and stretched out, but it was only a matter of time before the pain turned into pleasure. Sungjin would never go any further than she asked, and she almost laughed at herself.

“Keep going. Just like that.” She continued to breathe out encouragements, sighing his name over and over again, until his careful thrusting became rougher and more urgent.

Vini wanted this. She wanted to see Sungjin lose control. To allow himself to lose himself in the pleasure. They moved together in the sweltering heat, bodies slick with sweat and breathing in the humid air. But even in the last minute of abandon, Vini knew Sungjin hadn’t lost control completely. Even as he spent himself inside her, she could still feel the tension in his arms.

She kissed his brow. Sungjin had given her so much. Safety. Peace. Happiness. What had she done for him in return?

  
The sun was low on the horizon, sinking lower and lower until it disappeared entirely into the treeline, and twilight enveloped the woods, when Vini came out of the tent. Sungjin was already checking the rice in the pot, blowing away the steam and licking off the grains stuck on the wooden spatula. Vini slipped her feet into her boots, and without tying them back up sat next to Sungjin and pressed her cheek against him arm.

He scooped a bit of rice and blew to cool the grains before he offered it to her lips. “Dinner is almost ready.”

Vini took a bite of the rice and chewed thoughtfully. Sungjin always looked after her, would he ever allow her to look after him? “You didn’t have to make dinner by yourself. I would’ve helped.”

“I wanted you to wake up with food ready.”

“I told you not to spoil me. I’m awful.”

He chuckled into the kiss he pressed against her lips. “You’re not awful.”

Her eyes dropped to her ring. The question bubbled to the surface all over again, and try as she did to push it back under there was no use. Vini needed to know. “Sungjin.”

He raised a brow. “What are you calling me Sungjin for so suddenly.”

Vini straightened in her seat. She thumbed her ring. “Who do this rings really belong to?”

Sungjin released a breath. He turned to face her, face somber. “They were my parents’.”

In those words, Vini’s heart broke for him.

“I lost them a while back. It was an accident they said, but…I guess that’s true. It was an accident. I should have been there, but I wasn’t. I blamed myself for the accident even though there was nothing I could have done. I know that now. That’s how your grand uncle found me. I was so lost and angry.

“That’s why the village folk are wary of me. I came here looking like trouble and I was ready to fight my way through. The old man, I used to think he pitied me but turns out he saw something in me. So he made work the vineyard. I like working with my hands, anyway. And I was so angry, but seeing something grow by my own hands turned something inside me. And then I was just less and less angry. I was a bad seed, but somehow the old man buried me in soil and watered me well, and then left me out in the sun to turn into something I hope he’s proud of.”

“I’m sure he’s proud of you. He wouldn’t have left you the vineyard if he wasn’t.” She pressed her eyes against the hem of her shirt.

“Don’t cry, my darling,” Sungjin soothed, wiping her tears away. “That was so long ago.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. Come here.” He wrapped his arm around her.

“No,” Vini sniffled. “I mean, I’m sorry you had to go through that. But I’m also sorry because I thought the rings were for you and Sarang and I was upset.”

Sungjin chuckled into her hair, but he was also bad at hiding his tears. “I’m sorry I made you worry. But you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You don't have to worry about anything. I’ll take care of everything.”

_I’ll take of everything_.

How many times had Vini heard those words? All her life people were taking care of her. And she’d loved it, loved the feeling of being cared of, of being treasured and kept, but she found that she didn’t care much of it for this man. Somehow, Vini would get close enough to Sungjin, close enough that he would trust her with his pain and his secrets.

This was her point of no return.

From now on, there was no going back.


	17. Chapter 17

“What’s happening to me?” Sungjin muttered softly, caressing the vine before he gently cut off the cluster of ripe grapes. “When did I start thinking of this woman as my wife?”

The vine did not answer, as it so often did. It simply bounced back into place as he let go of the point where he had picked the grapes. He should be happy. The grapes were perfectly ripe, a deep violet colour, crisp to the bite, and sweet and bright on the inside. It was exactly how Sungjin remembered the old man’s grapes to be like, but Sungjin still felt so lost. Like something was still missing.

His eyes fell to the ring on his finger.

At the moment, his wife was merely a few hedgerows away joined by Jae and the girls, and also Brian who had not seen it fit to leave without completing his mission. Sungjin still couldn’t decide if he were to worry about the other man. Brian had made a compelling argument regarding Vini’s state of affairs, but ultimately neither of them could decide for Vini. Still, it nagged at Sungjin.

Was Vini happy here?

Could she ever truly be happy here with him?

From the distance, he could hear their laughter pierce through the once silent vineyard. There was a time it used to just be the old man and him and the deafening silence between them. Sungjin took to singing to himself in those days, when no one else wanted to work for the old man no matter the pay. It had taken them three harvest seasons to get people willing to work for them. It seemed strange to Sungjin now that he even had volunteers.

“Are you talking to the vines again?” Wonpil asked, carefully treading through the pathway. “You should really go see someone about that.”

“What are you doing here?”

Wonpil shrugged. “Everyone’s here duringpicking season.”

Sungjin gestured at the tractor. “Grab some shears and help out then.”

“Seems like our work friend is having the time of his life here.” Wonpil stood a few paces away, looking innocent as he checked on which grapes were ready to be picked.

“Do you think I should be worried about him?” Sungjin directed the question to the vines, refusing to look Wonpil in the eye.

Wonpil cupped his hand near his mouth and stage-whispered to the vine. “Hey Mrs. Vine, please tell Sungjin over there that maybe he should ask his wife about that.”

Sungjin sighed. “I’m not worried in the way you think.”

He wasn’t jealous of Brian.

He really wasn’t.

It wasn’t jealousy. At least, not predominantly.

“Then what are we worried for?” Wonpil asked, plucking out a cluster of grapes and and carefully placing them in the box on top of the tractor bed.

A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face, and Sungjin wiped it away on the sleeve of his shirt. “That maybe it’s time for her to go back to her real world.”

“Okay. Sure. That’s reasonable enough. And what happens to you?”

Sungjin shrugged. “I can’t leave the vineyard.”

“So…that’s it?”

Sungjin spread his palms in defeat. “I want her to be happy. I don’t know if this is a life she can be happy with.”

“Did she say that?”

“She doesn’t have to say it,” Sungjin answered quietly. “Sooner or later she’s going to leave anyway.”

“This isn’t like you at all.” Wonpil shook his head. “What’s really going on?”

Sungjin continued picking grapes until he filled one box. When Vini first came around, he didn’t care enough to look into her past trusting that she was related to the old man was enough. He had always known that her family had been well-off, that she had lived preciously and without unnecessary hardships. But he didn’t know exactly the kind of life she had lived until Brian pointed it out. Sungjin couldn’t possibly pluck her away from all that life.

“You know as well as I do that Vini doesn’t belong here,” Sungjin said eventually.

“That’s rich coming from you,” Wonpil shot back dryly. “You didn’t either when you first came here, and now you’re the one who’s made the decision to never leave. Do you know why Vini’s here?”

Sungjin levelled Wonpil with a look.

“You should talk about that. Seriously,” Wonpil muttered, shaking his head. “I should start charging you for these things. Two boxes of these grape would do, actually.”

“And tell her what exactly?”

“Your. Feelings.”

Sungjin scowled at Wonpil then the grapevines.

“Talk about your feelings.”

“If she wants to go, then there’s nothing I can do to stop her. I won’t get in her way.” Sungjin would never ask her to give up anything for him. And this life, his life, was a curse.

“That’s ironic,” Wonpil said, “Because just now you were making it sound like you’re making her leave you. Just because Sarang didn’t want this life doesn’t mean Vini would see it as the same thing. Why can’t you just talk to her about it? If you’re so scared?”

Of course, Wonpil said it.

“I’m not scared,” Sungjin scoffed, “I’m being realistic.”

“Then tell her how you feel,” Wonpil pressed, “Because until she knows how you really feel about her, she wouldn’t know where she’s supposed to go, would she? You can’t hide your feelings forever.”

Likewise, Vini wasn’t meant to hide away here in the vineyard forever either.

“It can’t have been easy being rejected,” Wonpil said, “Especially not like that. But at least you knew exactly where you stood and didn’t have to worry so much about it anymore. It hurt, yes. But nothing hurts forever, either.”

Time stopped in wounds that never seemed to heal, but every graft cut from the main vine grew into something beautiful. Every plant had their own coping mechanism, a way to grow healthy bark over a broken base until no scar is visible on the surface. Sometimes all you could do was the best you could.

Sungjin ran his hand lovingly across the leaves. “Take a box on your way out.”

Wonpil laughed. “The first one is always free, but the next one I expect you to come to my office with those special table grapes you enter into the competition.”

  
Vini found him up the watchtower, guitar in his arms and his head muddled with thoughts.

“I thought I heard you singing,” she said, taking the spot next to him. “Dowoon says you only start singing when something’s bothering you.”

“I sing all the time.”

Vini inclined her head. “Dowoon says you only start singing sad songs when something’s troubling you.”

He put the guitar aside and reached forward to hold Vini’s hands in his. “Did you think about what Brian said?”

The conversation was at least three days old, and who knew how long was needed to make a decision such as the one being asked of her, but Sungjin needed to know too. Th days were going by and soon the season would come to a close. The days were longer now, but it wouldn’t be too long before the nights drag on.

“It’s bad enough Brian keeps asking me to make a decision, and now you are too?”

Sungjin thumbed the sides of her hands. “He did say you have a deadline. You can’t make people wait, you know. This thing he’s making happen for you, it’s important.”

Because it wasn’t just about her anymore.

“I know that,” she replied guiltily. “I know how selfish it was to just run off without even telling anyone where I was going or what I was going to do. I told you, I was awful. Am still.”

“You were hurting.”

“I’m not anymore,” she whispered, “But I’m still scared.”

“That’s okay,” he soothed, “No one expects you to be brave all the time. Whatever happened, I can’t promise you it’ll be okay but you can always run back here if you need to.”

Sungjin couldn’t promise her anything more but succor, hoping it would be enough. That he could be enough.

“Brian said I just need to do this one thing, and if I’m sure I really don’t want that life anymore then I don’t have to live that life anymore.”

“He said that?”

“I’m surprised he did,” Vini admitted, “He’s usually the one pushing me forward to get things done. We’d set goals together and make them a reality. He’s the first one who picked up my manuscript after I got rejected so many times. I guess all this is his fault, huh.”

Sungjin hated that he hated all that history between Vini and Brian. It was a river he could not cross, one too wide, too deep, too tumultuous to even attempt. Accepting that all he could do was stand on his side and hope Vini stayed there was torture.

“Maybe he’s trying to fix that, too?”

Vini laughed. “He’s already gone over and beyond. I…I owe it to him to try, you know?”

“If you feel that way…”

“Or maybe I owe it to myself to try again.” Her voice broke and she cleared her throat. “I’m so scared of trying again, it was so bad.”

“What…what happened? Why did you come running here?”

Vini dropped her head onto his shoulder. “I was laughed out of this big workshop.”

The still summer air punctuated the silence between them. Sungjin didn’t speak, waiting patiently and without waiting for his turn, for Vini to finish her story. It was a story that she had kept so closely guarded, one Sungjin never pried into even when it was under his power to do so. He wanted Vini to open up to him in her own time, without him asking and without him prodding, but maybe Brian was right. Maybe if they left Vini alone for too long, she’d grow dormant. And while plants had this define mechanism, hiding inside themselves until the time was right to take a chance in the wild, Vini wasn’t a seed waiting for the right moment.

“It was one of those ivory tower literary type workshops that all the serious writers get into. It felt like a rite of passage, a way to legitimise my identity as a writer and a way to prove that what I write isn’t just genre garbage or whatever the highbrows like to call it. I got in—I don’t know if it was based on merit or reputation or because they needed to fill in the quota for female writers—and I was…I guess shamelessly overconfident. I thought I could come in there with something I was proud of and change their minds about me. Turns out I was wrong.

“I was standing up there being critiqued for my submission, and I could take the criticism. It wasn’t like I was some delicate flower that couldn’t stand anything less than aggressive praise. But…but then it felt more like they were making fun of me rather than saying anything constructive about the book. Then again I guess it’s my fault for suddenly coming in there with a romance book.”

“You were proud of it, you said.” Inside, his blood was boiling. Sungjin was beyond angry. He wanted to turn back time and make it better. Even if it meant Vini never showing up in the vineyard, he’d do it just so she wouldn’t hurt in this way.

“I really was. I loved that book. I mean I hate it but I love it, if that makes sense. For the first time, I really felt like myself. I was happy writing it, too. I just felt very free and liberated and…honestly when I take away all that happened because of it I know I still love that book. It’s something I made from nothing.”

Sungjin wrapped his arms around her, moving her to sit between his knees and holding her back against his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

“And nothing made sense, you know?” She hiccuped in his arms, holding back her tears. “Because they weren’t talking about the book. They were talking about how silly romance is, that if I really thought it was important to the literary community, if all these fickle fantasies had a place in the world. As if happiness has no place in this world. As if stories about marginalised identities earning their happy ever afters don’t matter. Because it does matter. It matters how you define a happy ending and who gets it.

“And, ugh, I never felt safe around all these old farts but at that moment I just felt so…ick. They read out one of the love scenes I wrote and then asked me if I wrote that from experience. They’ve always been creepy, but that was the worst.”

Not having the words, Sungjin tightened his hold around her.

“Then they started laughing and then I just walked away. I saw the videos later that night, as I was packing up to leave. And then after that I…I got on a bus and then a train…and then I found you.”

“You’ll always be safe here,” Sungjin whispered. “No harm will come to you as long as you’re here.”

Vini was crying now. “But Brian’s right, isn’t he? I can’t keep hiding. I can’t keep running. I can’t…I can’t keep pretending that this is who I am. Because it’s not. Because I’m braver than this. I’m stronger than this.”

“I believe that, too.”

Vini shifted in his arms so she could lay her cheek against his heart. “I know I can’t stay here like this. I know I have to go back.”

He ran his hand up and down her arm. He hated the words as he said them. “Only you can make that decision. Whatever you decide, I will support you.”

“You can ask me to stay here forever.”

But he wouldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to.

_I love you, Vini_._ Please come home to me_.

The words were poised on his tongue, but he found that he didn’t have the strength to say them out loud. If he asked her to stay, Vini would stay. But what then? What of her life? What of the happiness she derived from her own hands? Sungjin understood what it meant to make something out of nothing, and he could never take that away from her.

He carried her on his back on their way home. Just because. Vini draped herself around him, trusting him entirely. Fireflies lit their way, flitting around in the hot night, dancing to the tune of the crickets and the cicadas.

“Sing that song you sing to the vines,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Which one?”

“The one about the night sea? I really like that one.”

So he did.

If Vini were to be his wife, she would have all of him and her dreams too. But for tonight, he was going to hold her in his arms and never let go.


	18. Chapter 18

Presentation mattered. No matter what people say about not judging a book by its cover, people judged books by their cover anyway. There was an art from and a science to book covers but that was besides the point. The point was Sungjin’s grapes had to look the best because they were the best, and when he came up the stage to accept first prize the grapes would look photo ready.

Her husband, however, Vini wasn’t sure what the objective opinion of him would be in that category but she decided that was a battle for another day.

“They look too pretty to eat now,” Sungjin said, turning the basket around and admiring the work Ayeon and Hyerim put into designing and crafting their entry to the competition.

“They look pretty enough to eat,” Vini answered, plucking a grape from their own stash and popping it into her mouth. “They’re supposed to look enticing.”

Sungjin was agreeing with her, though less because of the basket and more because he was watching her put that grape into her mouth. Like he couldn’t help himself. And Vini was constantly, achingly, aware of his eyes on her. He pushed his hair off his face, and there went the last of Vini’s self control.

She tugged at the collar of his plaid shirt and pushed herself on her toes. The grapes were sweet, but Sungjin was sweeter.

“If Mrs. Shim catches us one more time—”

“What’s she gonna do anyway?” Vini wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss.

“It’s one thing to be doing this in our own vineyard, but here?”

“Relax,” Vini said, pulling him down for yet another kiss and nipping at his lower lip. So they were inside their grape selling booth at the festival. No big deal. “We haven’t pulled up the tarp yet. Who’s going to see us?”

“_I_ can see you. I swear, you two.” Jimin rolled her eyes as she came in from the back carrying another box of grapes. “You’re like horny teenagers. Spare my eyes.”

Vini stepped away from Sungjin with a little laugh. Even after all this time, Sungjin still wasn’t used to people walking in on them. Even if it was always just the usual suspects. She supposed she should maybe exert some semblance of control when they were very much in public like this, but also why again? There were worse things, after all.

With the booth opening soon, she checked behind Jimin before she gave the morning’s instructions. Jae and Hyerim were going around the festival together, that had always been the plan. After Jimin and Ayeon’s shift, Jae and Hyerim would be watching the booth together.The whole idea was to just keep them together at all times.

“Where’s Ayeon?” Vini asked, looking around.

“Showing Mr. Brian Kang around,” Jimin said with a tick of her brow. “So now my single ass is going to fly this bird solo.”

Vini wasn’t sure how Brian and Ayeon even gravitated toward each other, but as they were both responsible and consenting adults, Vini decided it was none of her business until someone invites her into the narrative. Too bad Ayeon wasn’t enough of a distraction for Brian to forget he was on a mission.

After the Grape Festival, Vini was going back to Seoul with Brian. Suddenly, so many things seemed to hang on this day. This was going to be the best day ever, Vini was determined to make it so, but the crowd outside wasn’t good for her and she just wanted to hide in the booth forever.

“Let’s go look around after we send this to the judging panel,” Sungjin said, after they left Jimin in charge of the booth.

Vini walked by his side, eyes darting around on high alert. “I guess? Don’t we have to go back to the booth?”

“It’s fine,” Sungjin said, “Jimin’s got that covered. And Dowoon will be arriving with more crates. It’s not that hard. We can go look around once and then go back.”

The judging panel was at the stage area, under a special tent where the grape experts convened every year. This year, Sarang was part of the judging panel by virtue of being one of the assistant heads of the university’s viticulture division. She sat with the other experts, enjoying some grape juice and conversation.

“Are you worried?” Vini asked Sungjin after the registered their grapes.

Sarang had given them a civil nod and nothing else. It was nothing personal, just another duty as a judge to be impartial. But Vini couldn’t help but worry.

“I don’t want to really think about it,” Sungjin answered honestly. They left the stage area, moving away from the loud speakers blasting some trendy bubble pop song. “Never mind our past. I trust she’d going to be objective about this anyway. Despite thinking my dreams of winning first place are not good enough.”

“Your dreams are plenty good enough.” When Sungjin had told her all about the fiancee that wasn’t, Vini’s heart broke for Sungjin a little more. He had loved Sarang, Vini had felt that acutely, even if it was all in the past tense now. “I think your dreams are just like you. They might seem understated, but only to people who don’t understand.”

“Even if my dream means being stuck in this vineyard forever?”

Vini looped her arm around his elbow. “I thought you said the best vines grow when their roots grow deep into the soil? That having roots is important in growing big and strong.”

“You were listening to me.”

“I always listen to you. I just have this face…I never look like I’m paying attention.”

“Sungjin!” JYP called out from behind them. “Sungjin, I’ve been looking for you.”

Vini was more than willing to keep walking, pulling Sungjin away from whatever JYP wanted, but Sungjin couldn’t say no to whatever JYP wanted. It was sweet. But also Vini wanted to monopolise her husband for the rest of the day.

“What is it?” Sungjin asked, tugging Vini back next to him before she could drag him away.

“Ah, yes,” JYP…admired the sight of them first before he got to the point. “I saw that Mrs. Ok signed you up for the Singing Competition, I’m here to wish you luck. I’m looking forward to it. Now, you two enjoy the festival. Join the games, eat good food. I’ll see you two later.”

“Mrs. Ok did what?” Vini asked as soon as JYP had gone.

Sungjin sighed. “Mrs. Ok has been trying to get on that stage ever since she heard me singing to the vines.”

She laughed. “That’s cute. But do you really just let people tell you what to do around here?”

Sungjin shook his head, his expression serious. “It’s no trouble at all. It’s little things, things that make them happy. I don’t mind doing these things to make them happy.”

Vini was taken aback by the sincerity in his voice. “I…I didn’t mean it to be a bad thing. I know they’re very special to you. You were so alone when you came here, these people became your family.”

“Besides,” Sungjin said, the light returning to his eyes, “I’ve always wanted to try it anyway.”

“Then you got me cheering for you.”

They came back to help Jimin at the booth after going around the festival grounds. There were so many interesting stalls—local delicacies, grape byproducts, and other trinkets and curiosities—the overwhelming feeling kept Vini from walking away and back to the safety of their booth. Crowds had always bothered her, but more so now after the incident.

“Do you want to go grab an early lunch?” She asked Jimin.

“I’ll go later,” Jimin replied. “So how come you never told us you’re famous?”

Vini rolled her eyes playfully. Because it was Jimin, it didn’t bother her as much. “How does one go about doing that exactly?”

“Good point. Are you really coming back with us to Seoul?”

Vini glanced behind them, where Sungjin and Dowoon were bringing in new boxes of grapes to replace the ones sold. “And where did you hear that?”

Jimin shrugged. “I have ears.”

Vini leaned back in her seat, resigned. “Yeah, we’re all going back together.”

Ready or not, she was going to face her demons.

  
The singing competition started after lunch, and Vini found herself a spot near the back. Brian joined her, handing her a spun sugar snack from one of the stalls.

“Thanks,” she said. “Where’s Ayeon?”

“She’s with her friends.”

She sent him a look.

“What?” Brian shot back, amused. “You really were going to leave all by myself around here? In this strange land?”

Vini just shook her head and chuckled under her breath. “What time did you say we were leaving?”

“Tonight, if you want. The sooner the better. Your Not-Husband is taking this rather well.”

“I can’t believe you ran a background check on him.”

“Just covering my bases.”

When it was Sungjin’s turn, Vini pushed forward just a little bit. Sungjin might not see her in the crowd, but it was worth a shot anyway. Brian went with her, making sure she was alright. Sungjin was so awkward introducing himself on stage even though most of the people knew who he was anyway. But all that awkwardness fell away as soon as he started singing and dancing rather badly, but extremely passionately to some trot song. Vini wanted to laugh, she wanted to cheer, but all she felt was a deep sadness over something she couldn’t explain.

And then it happened. It started with one look, then a whisper, then it was two looks and two whispers, both growing exponentially until Vini’s breaths came shallow and her vision blurred. Someone pointed at her. Another called her ‘that writer’ and mouthed something about a video to their friend.

Vini ducked her head and hastened away. She ran all the way back to the parking area, found Sungjin’s truck and climbed into the backbed. Once alone, she pulled her knees up to her chin, tucked her head between her knees, and wrapped her arms around her legs, hugging herself tight. She felt the guilt immediately, leaving in the middle of Sungjin’s performance, and for leaving Brian again to fend to for himself.

The crowd closed in around her, and the cold gripped her neck and her lungs and she couldn’t breathe. It didn’t use to be this bad, and most days she had a handle on herself, but there was so much pressure on her it felt like. Now that she had to be the real Vini again, it was all coming back to her.

She stayed that way for minutes, maybe hours. Once she was calm, she unclenched all her muscles and took in a deep breath. When she looked up, Sungjin was running toward her, panting and panicked. And yet he looked so good, with the way the sun touched him giving him a summer glow. The air around him had always been one of command and ease, and she felt her weariness melt away seemingly because Sungjin willed it so.

“I was looking all over for you,” he said, coming to a halt by the edge of the truck.

Vini crawled toward the open latch and fell into Sungjin’s embrace.

“Brian told me what happened.” He ran a soothing hand up and down her back. “Are you alright?”

“It was probably nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. If you want, we can go home. Let me just tell Dowoon and we can go.”

“No…” She checked her watch. She’d only been gone a few minutes. “They’re announcing the winners in a bit.. What if you win? You should go up there and accept your award.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Dowoon can accept the award if we even get one.”

She shook her head vehemently. “But it matters to you.”

“Yes, but your safety matters more to me.”

Vini looked up at him. “I’ll be alright. I want this for you, too. And I want to be there with you.”

“Not if it makes you like this.”

Vini forced a smile on her face. “I’ll be okay as long as you’re with me. I don’t want you to miss out on all this because of me. I’m sorry I ran off while you were performing…”

He chuckled into her hair. “Jae says he has a video anyway. That punk…I can’t believe he’s useful sometimes.”

Vini breathed him in, filling her lungs with the comforting scent of him. “Come with me to the city too. Please?”

Because she needed him, as selfish as that was.

“Please, Sungjin. Don’t let me go back there all alone.”


	19. Chapter 19

What was Sungjin supposed to do? Say no?

He couldn’t.

Not to Vini.

So now here he was, being fitted for a three piece suit while Vini was being caught up on everything that had happened since she’d been gone. They had gone straight to her apartment, a two bedroom suite with a loft and a wide open plan receiving area somewhere at a high rise in the middle of a too expensive part of town. She was surrounded by Brian, her publicist Sunmi, and her executive assistant Chaeyoung. Also coming in and out were various interns, each with a different purpose and each of them regarding Vini with a quiet veneration.

And Vini, she didn’t seem to pay attention to the coming and going of the people around her, sitting there quietly as she reviewed the dossier Chaeyoung had given her as a team of stylists worked around her.

“No such thing as taking this celebrity author thing too far,” Sunmi said to Brian, “We need to capitalise on this while we can.”

Brian feigned a wince. “I am both in awe and in fear of the way you use the word capitalise.”

“There’s a gala at the end of the week, at that charity fundraiser by the Park & Park& Baek Foundation, and it’s the perfect comeback for us. We can spin this exactly how we want to, make a good impression, make it so that in every lowbrow attack we rise with grace and poise. We do have the international community backing us up, as well as key groups and readers communities. They know who the real villains of this narrative are, and Vini coming back is nothing but a beacon of hope. A voice in the—”

“Yeah, yeah,” Brian cut in good-naturedly. “I get it. You need a raise for what a good job you’re doing.”

“Why, thank you,” Sunmi said with a wink.

“I can’t believe you kept all this running,” Vini said, turning to Brian, “I’ve been gone six months and everything’s in order.”

“Oh,” Brian said, teasingly, “You owe me a big fat bonus.”

Vini laughed, “I’ll write you a blank check.”

“You’re gonna regret that.”

Vini rolled her eyes playfully at the mirror. “I regret you everyday.”

Sungjin hated it. He hated the necessity of introducing Vini back into this life, at the way Brian fit into her life, at the way he felt helpless in easing her burdens. They didn’t even give her an opportunity to rest, filling up her schedule for the next couple of weeks with appearances and interviews.

“Are you alright?” Vini asked, finally free of her staff. She’d pulled him up the loft and into her bedroom. Downstairs, he could still hear the white noise of phones ringing, voices dictating instructions, and the shuffle of people moving in and out.

“Are _you_ alright?” Sungjin asked, sitting down next to her on her bed. Unlike her previous bedroom at the old house, this space was neat and minimalist. Sungjin suspected it had less to do with Vini and more to do with Brian.

“You mean this?” Vini glanced downstairs. “This is an easy day. Personally, I hate press days but it’s necessary. You don’t have to stay here. You can go explore? I can call Jae and the other to take you around if you like.”

Just the thought of it left a bitter taste in his mouth. “I’m here for you,” he reminded her. “For whatever you need.”

But it seemed Brian had all her needs taken care of.

She leaned into him, and he caught whiff of that citrusy scent when he had first met her. Vini looked so different now, almost unrecognisable in a chic lavender dress and heels instead of her floral work pants and his plaids. “I don’t want to bore you with all this stuff,” she sighed. “It’s okay if you want to go out for a bit.”

If not for the way she held his hand, tightly and unwilling to let go, Sungjin would have believed her. “I’ll stay with you.”

“Miss Vini,” Chaeyoung called out softly from the middle of the stairs, “I need your confirmation for the appointment at the salon and the spa.”

“We’ll do it tomorrow morning,” Vini answered.

Chaeyoung nodded, snuck another curious glance at Sungjin, and made her leave.

Sungjin might even say he was used to it, the odd glances he received as soon as Vini introduced him to her team, but he wasn’t so sure. He had lived his life making himself as unobtrusive as possible, making himself small so the people around him would feel safe, but it wasn’t the same here. Not exactly.

Vini squeezed his hand. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

They stayed in for dinner that night, much to his relief. Vini had ordered in, apologising that she was short on supplies to make him a meal. Sungjin would have offered to cook anyway, but Vini had made up her mind. They sat on the floor and ate in silence. Then they fell asleep on her bed.

This much Sungjin knew, as lost as he may have felt to be so out of touch with what he was used to, having Vini in arms was the truth he would hold on to.

  
The following three days were a blur.

Sungjin fingered the collar of his crisp new shirt uncomfortably as he stood in the shadows of the hotel function room. Vini had her first press conference, an announcement of her resurfacing and addressing the events that had transpired and resulted in her disappearance. Brian stood behind her, the one constant presence through her career. He answered some of the questions, fielded away those which he considered were too intrusive, and one time outright called out a reporter for being rude.

Sungjin didn’t know much about how publishing worked, but he knew with a sick sense of foreboding that Brian Kang was doing above and beyond.

Restless, his feet walked him out of the room, through the maze of corridors and out into the indoor greenhouse. He caught his reflection on the glass and laughed bitterly to himself. The suit was unlike anything he had ever put on, fabric so light and smooth and decadent, he felt like an impostor outside his cargo pants and his worn-out shirts. And the shoes? He had no use for leather shoes, whatever these were called.

But he was doing all this for Vini, he reminded himself.

He took a breath.

“What am I doing?” he asked the orchid hanging down from an aerial pot. “I should go back there. What if she needs me?”

The orchid bloom said nothing, staring back at him with the vivid violets against the white petals.

He took another breath, breathing in the warm humid air better than the filtered and perfumed air inside the hotel. The greenhouse was designed for flowers, some ferns, and the moss covering the entirety of one wall. Immediately, Sungjin felt a semblance of home though the sunlight filtering through the glass roof would never compare to the real thing.

He almost heard Wonpil’s voice chastising him.

“What are you doing?” Wonpil would say.

In the background, Dowoon would be nodding at him.

“What _am_ I doing?” he breathed.

“Sungjin?”

He looked down at his arm, right where Vini had touched him.

“I was looking for you. Are you alright?”

Sungjin pulled his lips into a smile. “Ah, I’m sorry, I went to find the toilet then I got lost, found it, and then I found myself here instead. I must have a homing system for plants.”

“Are you alright?” she asked, worry clouding her eyes.

“Are you done?” he asked instead, “You did well today. I was worried you might…well I was worried you’d have one of those…”

Vini wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Sungjin’s hands instinctively came to her waist, his palms noting the way her skirt clung to her skin. The way Vini held on to him was familiar, but everything else…

“I have to go to this interview, but I’ll be back in about an hour.”

“That’s alright.”

Vini leaned back and raised her eyes up at him. “But after that I’m free and we can go to the supermarket and then we can go straight home and make dinner. How’s that sound?”

He nodded. “I’ll cook.”

Her hands ran up his chest, anchoring themselves on his tie. “I know this must be uncomfortable for you.”

“I’m alright.”

She tugged once, loosening the knot at his neck. He got the vague feeling she’d done this before. Another tug and she was sliding the tie off his collar and rolling it around her hand. “Keep this for later, okay?” She slipped the tie in his coat pocket.

“What else would I do with it?”

The corner of her lips quirked into a teasing smile and she undid the top two buttons of his shirt. “Just…keep it for later.”

And then she stepped back at the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Sungjin turned behind him and found Brian standing at the entrance. He never could read the expression on Brian’s face, and that moment was not different. Brian tilted his head back to the direction of the function room. “Ready?”

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

Brian nodded and stepped outside.

“You have my ring?” Vini asked.

Sungjin nodded, patting his chest pocket. Before Vini came out to the press, Brian had gestured vaguely at his hand. Much as it was a hard pill to swallow, the truth remained that Sungjin and Vini weren’t married at all. There was no point in her wearing the wedding band here.

“Good.” She pressed forward to kiss him on the lips. “Because I’m coming back for that, okay?”

Sungjin watched Vini walk ahead and decided to follow, at least make sure she was settled wherever they were doing the interview before he wandered back into the greenhouse. Somewhere along the way, she was stopped by a tall, ambiguously foreign looking handsome man.

“Nichkhun!” Vini exchanged hugs with him. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Vini, are you back for good?” Nichkhun answered, taking her hand. “I heard you were back. I missed you. We should get lunch one of these days.”

Brian appeared behind Sungjin’s shoulder wearing an expression he could finally read. “Yeah, I don’t like him either.”

“Who’s he?” Sungjin asked.

“Ex-boyfriend,” Brian answered petulantly. “He’s an actor. He was cast as the lead role in the series adaptation that streaming service did on one of her novels. He’s pretty good, I’ll give him that. Did justice and all. Still don’t like him. Actually, that’s a lie. He’s a great guy, genuinely. Maybe that’s why I don’t like him. Because I can’t actually hate him.”

Sungjin’s lip curled into a scowl. “Ex-boyfriend?”

Brian shrugged. “I don’t know. They went out a couple of times. It definitely wasn’t just a publicity stunt. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s too busy to remember him.”

Sungjin grunted his agreement. It was juvenile, and he hated agreeing with Brian, he hated even more this momentary truce against a common enemy, but Sungjin found that he didn’t care much for being a mature adult in the situation.

“I’m counting on you, Kang,” he said gruffly.

“What you need to know about me is this,” Brian replied, “I do my job well. So you better make sure you do yours.”

Sungjin heard the challenge loud and clear, and he regarded Brian with a cool, level, look. No more words needed to be spoken, and the both of them followed after Vini. It wasn’t a competition, Sungjin reminded himself, but damn him to hell if he wasn’t going to at least put up a fight.


	20. Chapter 20

“How have you been holding up?” Vini asked.

The past four days were not easy on Sungjin. His discomfort weighed on her twice as much, and she had done whatever she could to make sure he was comfortable. There was only so much she could do. Her first month in the vineyard had been hell and high water, but Sungjin’s presence had kept her grounded. Vini could only hope what she was doing would be enough for Sungjin.

She needed to be enough for him because the more Vini sank deeper into her work, the more she was reminded of why she built her life around this career.

Vini was in love with the person this job demanded of her, and speaking from a past of self-doubt and anxiety, being able to come to this conclusion meant everything to her.

But what did it mean for her and Sungjin?

“Don’t worry about me,” Sungjin said, following her up her loft bedroom. “How are you holding up? You must be exhausted meeting people and answering the same questions over and over again.”

She shook her head. “I have to power through this. No matter how I hate this part of the deal—the book tours and talks and things—it’s necessary. I can’t always be writing all the time. It’s not sustainable—I might go feral if I have to keep forcing words out of my brain. You can still love something and hate it. That’s how I feel about all this.”

Sungjin smiled softly at her. “Are you tired?”

Quite the opposite, Vini felt wired.

When she met with Sungjin after her appointments, he had come in wearing a black bomber jacket over one of his new button downs and her heart did a little flip. And then it flipped out even more when he ran his hands through his freshly trimmed hair. It was just a few snips off, just to get his too-long fringe off his eyes, but that was exactly what had Vini losing her breath. His eyes. Now everyone could Sungjin’s bright eyes and his sooty dark lashes.

She shook her head. “Are you?”

“I’m not tired,” he answered, “I really didn’t do much today.”

Vini paused at the foot of her bed. Sungjin’s black silk tie was folded neatly on top of her dresser, exactly where she had put it last night. She’d had plans, but Sungjin hadn’t been in the mood for anything but rest and she didn’t want to push him. Tonight, though.

Tonight she wanted—needed—him.

“There’s one thing I never did ask,” she said, looking at him from over her shoulder.

“What is it?”

Vini beckoned him closer. “Can you help me out of this dress first?”

She had chosen this outfit for him, a deep wine coloured dress that zipped up all the way to the back of her neck and hugged her figure. Earlier in the day, she had worn a white blazer over it and she had even made a bit of a show for him as she took the blazer off after the formal events were done. Not that Sungjin seemed to have been paying attention.

But he would have to now, just for tonight at least.

Carefully, Sungjin stepped up to her and found the top of her zipper. Her breathing slowed to a deep exhale and her eyes fluttered closed at his proximity. Vini missed him so much. She missed the way he smiled so openly at her, at the way he could make her laugh without ever meaning to on purpose. She missed his touch. His kisses. Sungjin was so far away from her, she didn’t know what else she could do but let him go back to where he was happiest.

The rough callouses of his fingertips tickled the back of her neck, and electricity ran down her spine as the heat of his hands travelled lower and lower as he unzipped her dress. She reached up and pulled one sleeve down, and then another, then pushed the fabric down her waist, past her hips, before letting the dress pool by her feet and revealing the mauve lace bodysuit she wore underneath.

That was for him, too.

From over her shoulder, she anchored her gaze at him, held him there. “What did we do for our honeymoon?”

His voice was barely above a whisper. “We didn’t.”

“That’s a shame.” She shifted her body toward him, daring him to look at her and not want to touch her. “We should probably fix that.”

Sungjin’s dark gaze swept over her, from the low dip of the lace cupping her breasts, the sheerness of the fabric against her straining nipples, the floral accents on the bodice, and the high cut at the hips. Vini parted his jacket and pushed it down his shoulders before making good work on the buttons of his shirt. He watched her, unmoving and his breathing steady. But she knew he wanted this. The shift in his eyes, from the earthy brown to an almost black midnight encouraged her forward. She let his shirt fall to the floor, then she unbuckled his belt, undid his jeans, and bared him completely to her.

She wanted to climb all up his body and cling to him, whisper naughty things just to see how he might like them. Vini settled for pushing him down on the bed first, wordlessly ordering him to wait as she retrieved the silk tie from the dresser. Leaning up on his elbows, he eyed her curiously but said nothing.

Vini crawled over him, spreading her thighs wide to straddle him. Arousal, hot and wet, flooded her. She stretched the tie taut between her hands. “This is for you.”

“What should I do with it?”

She almost lost her senses at the deep gravel of his voice. “You could cover my eyes, or you could tie it around my hands.”

A brow shot up. “You like that?”

“Sometimes,” she whispered. Vini licked her lips. “Stop means stop. If you feel weird about it, you can tell me and we’ll do something else. Or if you feel uncomfortable now, we don’t have to do this. But if you feel up to it, we can have tonight.”

“I…”

“I trust you,” Vini said, “Fully. Completely. I’ve never felt more safer than with anyone else but you. So don’t think you’re going to scare me or hurt me like this. I just want you to want me the way I want you. Like I can’t help myself. Like I’m losing control. I’m all yours.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. He hasn’t even touched her yet, hasn’t even kissed her yet, and she’d behaved just as well and kept herself from grinding against him, but Vini could already feel herself riding all the way up to the edge. This was sweet torture. And the way he was looking at her?

It sent a flash of molten heat through her.

She wanted to push him. Ask for everything and more.

Sungjin sat up, and Vini slid down his hips with a sigh when she met with his hardness. Gingerly he took her wrists in his hands and wrapped the tie around her, once, twice, finishing it with a simple and loose slip knot, Vini could free herself if she wanted to. The question never left her lips, but when she raised her eyes at him, his answer weakened her even as it gave her strength.

“I want you see me,” he rasped into her ear as he lifted her off his hips and flipped her over. “I want you to watch.”

He held her hands over her head, and she gripped the backboard tight. His words sent a shiver through her, and when he finally touched her, when he ran his hands up her thighs a moan rang up her throat and she wrapped her legs around his hips.

It wasn’t just a kiss when his lips met her lips, and it wasn’t just bodies against bodies, when he settled his weight on top of her. His mouth was hot against her bare skin. Her breaths sped up and his hips rolled with her. Sungjin overwhelmed her. It was everything.

He lowered his mouth down her neck and collarbones, and they way he licked and sucked at her skin made her want to jump right out of her bones. Pleasure curled all over her with the way he touched and kissed her over the lace binding her body. His tongue worried and worshipped, before he slipped his finger over the lining and pushing the fabric down to bare her to him. Lower and lower his kisses went, until he was spreading her wide open.

When he raised his head, she thought she might die, and she was gasping out his name unable to do anything else but grip the backboard tighter. A wicked smile flashed on his face before he dipped his head down to press a kiss on her inner thighs. Seconds passed, minutes and hours it felt like before his fingers were teasing her, pushing aside the fabric and taking her with his mouth.

He went slowly, licked her first before nibbling slightly and swirling his tongue around her. Her breaths grew louder. _More_, she breathed. _Harder_.

Vini thrashed beneath him, arching her back and curling her toes into her sheets. Those fingers moved again, and she lifted herself against him asking for more. And he gave her more. She chased the sensation of his fingers and his mouth, shamelessly demanding for everything and more until her climax rocketed through her and she couldn’t bear it any longer.

Sungjin tugged at seams of her bodysuit, his nails digging into the fabric searching for a way to release her from it. Vini chuckled darkly beneath her delirium as he growled against her ear, unable to find all her skin.

“The back…” she gasped, losing the thought when he grinded against her. “Just…tear it off.”

Sungjin raised his eyes, questioning.

“It’s okay,” she said, her breaths running to catch up with her. “Tear it off.”

His hands came to the top, and in one powerful rip, rent the fabric in two. He pushed it off her body, leaving it fall on the floor along with the pile of clothes already there.

“Untie me,” she gasped.

He moved lightning fast, releasing her from her hands before she could even finish thinking what she was about to say next. But even as her hands were free, he held them over her head in one hand. It was both too much and not enough.

She ached to be filled. Her body vibrated with this deep, wonderful, devastation, she would break apart with the need.

After the responsible things have been done, he pushed into her in strong thrusts and decadent strokes. Her arms came around his shoulders, holding him in place against her. This was where Vini always wanted him to be, curved lovingly around her, losing himself in the pleasure and the passion. With every thrust, she could feel him losing control, and he said her name over and over again. The dam had finally ben broken, and he took her hard and rough and her release built and built into a crescendo, hot and scalding.

And still, he couldn’t get enough of her.

And this, this felt nothing like all the times before. This was messy. But also it was perfect.

His release came with a raw cry, and then he was soft around her, curling into her and kissing her and pushing the hair away from her face. Vini had been desperate to see this side of him, of him just wanting and taking. And she knew she could make him want more and take more, but tonight this would be enough.

Sungjin separated himself away from her long enough to check if things that needed to work were working as they should, and once he was satisfied he joined her back in bed. They were quiet for long moments, waiting for their breathing to return to this Earth. Vini snuggled against him and yawned into his chest. Her heart had never felt so full.

Was it love? She’d asked that question before. Love was tricky, complicated business, as she had learned. The craft she could study and learn, but the reality of it was far too different than anything Vini could have hoped for or expected.

But this—this felt so much like she could take on the world. If she could take root in Sungjin’s embrace like this, she could grow until she reached the sun. Because of him, she was brave enough to try again. Because of him, she would brave enough to make the decision too.

It was so simple, really.


	21. Chapter 21

“Sungjin?”

Sungjin flew across the kitchen and halfway up the stairs at Vini’s panicked voice.The moment she saw him, she jumped into his arms and he barely caught himself on the banister to keep them from tumbling down to the floor. He checked for injury, for distress, for anything.

“You’re still here.” Vini wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Finding his balance, Sungjin banded an arm around her waist. “Where would I go?”

“I don’t know…away?”

His other hand came to caress her hair. “Why would I do that?”

Vini burrowed her face in the crook of his neck and he walked them toward the kitchen where he had been preparing breakfast for the two of them. He’d left his whisking on the counter, one egg cracked and spinning on the marble and the whisk dripping on the tiled floor. Clean up would have to wait, however.

“Vini,” he soothed, “Where would I go?”

The thought broke his heart. While he knew his place here was ambiguous at best, he wouldn’t just leave her without saying goodbye. He wasn’t that kind of person.

Sungjin would have talked to her about leaving.

If it came to that.

He sat her down on top of a stool, pushed her hair away from her face and straightened her shirt—his shirt—down over her knees.

Vini raised her eyes. “I was so worried when I woke up and you weren’t there.”

She never used to be so worried. There had been plenty of days Sungjin woke up first to tend to breakfast or make his early morning rounds at the vineyard, and Vini never made a fuss. It had been an inside joke at first, never being the wife who clung and demanded affection, but Sungjin loved that she didn’t demand from him.

This…this was different thought.

Vini was scared.

He rubbed the shell of her ear. “Where would I go?”

She tangled her fingers into his shirt and pulled him closer. “I know it’s hard for you here. I know it’s hard on you that you’re missing out on the rest of the harvest because there’s just so much left to do. There’s more picking and packaging and deliveries and the winemaking and the the preserves—Mrs. Ok and Mrs. Choi said they’ll teach me how to make grape jelly. I know that you’d rather be back at the vineyard and make sure everything is going according to scheduled exactly the way you like it. And I know you miss Baba. I miss Baba, too. But you’re here. You’re stuck with me.”

He thumbed her cheek and she sighed into his touch. “Dowoon knows what to do. And Mrs. Ok and Mrs. Choi will forgive you if you’re little late to their lessons.”

“All that is so important to you.”

“And all this is so important to you.”

Sungjin was no fool. He could see and feel the change in Vini as she reacclimatised to her life here. This Vini was fearless and she shined so bright sometimes he had to look away. It wasn’t just that she was a talented and hardworking writer—it was that so many people were so in love with her and her words. Just yesterday he had watched her talk to a roomful of teenage girls about her books, but even without Brian explaining to him that it wasn’t just about the books, Sungjin understood. Vini was doing more than just providing her audience with a strong female protagonist. In her doing so she was giving these young girls the validation and permission to be the same.

Sungjin couldn’t possibly make her give all this up.

“I thought you left.” Her voice faltered as she said the words. “I thought you left me.”

He leaned forward to kiss her softly on the lips. “I’m right here. I’m making you breakfast. I’m not going to let you skip meals because you’re too busy to have proper ones. You should know better by now.”

Sungjin cleaned up the splatter on the kitchen counter and on the floor and resumed making his kimchi omelette rice. Reminding her to eat, it felt like, was the only thing he could really do for her. That couldn’t possibly be enough. Sarang’s words echoed in his mind,

_Is this really all you want to do?_

_Is this the life you want to live?_

_Is this the life you want us to live?_

Maybe Sarang was right about him. His dreams weren’t good enough to give someone the life they deserved. Or at least to keep the life they were used to. Asking Vini to stay with him meant damning her to the vineyard. It meant a lifetime away from all this.

Because as much as he loved Vini, Sungjin knew his life belonged in the vineyard.

“I don’t actually have to be anywhere today,” she said from across him, leaning over the kitchen counter to peek at what he was doing.

“I thought Brian and Sunmi had you fully booked.”

“Not until tonight. You want to go somewhere?”

When he looked up, he was met with her eager face and he couldn’t say no to that. “Where do you want to go?”

Vini shrugged. “You know I‘ve lived here on my own for, like, forever, but I haven’t really gone out to see the usual things. Like…touristy things.”

He raised a brow. “Are you being serious or are you just conning me into going around because I am an actual tourist?”

Vini pouted at him. “I am serious. I’ve never gone around, not really. I’m always…indoors…you know…working.”

Sungjin let his eyes wander around the rest of her apartment. Books were everywhere, on top of desks, chairs, the sofa—every flat surface had a book on it, even her bed. The floor to ceiling shelves were lines with double and triple parked books in several languages, genre to genre and reference to reference. He’d had no reason to see her laptop or even her computer at the vineyard, but her setup at home was a custom and dedicated space for her needs. The old house barely had electricity most days.

“Should you be working?” he asked.

“On what?” she answered, “I’m not writing anything. I haven’t written anything since, well, you know.”

“Should you be?”

Vini shrugged. “I guess I should be, but I’d rather go out with you. We never go out.”

Technically, they had gone camping. Sungjin supposed it could be considered a date even though it might not have been what she had in mind. “Sure. Wherever you want to go.”

They ate breakfast side by side on the countertop. Vini had put on the coffeemaker while he was cooking, so now she had a cup of coffee at her side. Sungjin hadn’t realized all that she had to give up for him, and it ate away at him. He felt sick.

“Are you okay? You cooked the food, okay. Whatever it’s doing to you, that’s your fault,” Vini said, checking in on him.

Sungjin lightly swatted her hand away. “Do you think it tastes funny?”

She shook her head. “It tastes like it should. Why? Do you think the eggs here taste different?”

“The certainly look different.”

She laughed. “Do you remember the first time you made me go get eggs from the coop?”

Sungjin smiled at the memory. “You came back screaming because the chicken started chasing you around.”

“I swear, that chicken had it in for me,” she said, still offended. “She hated me. I couldn’t get close until after a month or something.”

“Pigs, too.”

Vini made a face. “You also made me catch all the pigs when they escaped the pen.”

“That’s because you didn’t close it fast like I told you.” They had spent the good part of the morning herding the pigs back into the pen, and the rest of it tending to her scrapes and bruises. The smile faded from Sungjin’s face. He couldn’t believe he just watched her run around. He had helped her, eventually, but why did he think it was better to have her figure out what to do when he could have just done it himself?

“Hey,” she shot back, playfully, “Eventually, I did figure things out. Except the tractor, maybe. I never did get used to driving the tractor.”

“No more driving the tractor for you.” Not since she ran straight into a waterhole.

“To be fair, Dowoon is a better teacher than you.”

“How is he better, when that was how you fell into the pond in the first place.”

“I lost a rubber boot, too,” she laughed. “I don’t even remember how that happened. We were supposed to bring the manure to the other side of the vineyard so we came to collect it, right? But for some reason while we were crossing the road, I fell?”

He’d been so worried—and maybe he was a little rough on her—when she came back dripping wet and walking barefoot from the small accident. It was hardly a cause for concern, a delay at most, but in retrospect it wasn’t funny. Not the way Vini was making it out to be.

“And then you punished me by making me sit with Mrs. Choi and pick beansprouts with her and clean them and prepare them to make side dishes.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper, “Sometimes I still hear her voice in my head.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his hand stuck in its place afraid to reach out for her.

Their days at the vineyard had not been easy and they didn’t get along so well at first, what with Sungjin wary of her presence and Vini clueless about how to live, but they made it through. They made it through with more than just a semblance of surviving the days. He couldn’t say for sure when everything started to change, but one morning he just knew that he had never seen the sun rise the way it did the moment Vini walked out of the kitchen with a pot of rice. Life at the vineyard had always been his constant.

For Sungjin, it was the life he was coming back to. The life he would always come back to.

“If there’s anything you should be sorry for, it should be your smelly feet,” she teased.

“I’m sorry.” It was all he could say.

“Hey!” She turned to him, panicked and apologetic. “I didn’t mean it that way. Besides, I got used to your smelly feet—I really am just joking.”

But Sungjin didn’t want her to just get used to a life. He wanted her comfortable and thriving. He picked up his plate and gestured at hers. “I know. Are you done eating? I’ll clean up here and you can go get ready.”

“Are we okay?” she asked softly. “Is this about last night? Was that weird for you?”

Sungjin soaked the dishes in the sink. Last night had been beyond anything he could have ever imagined in his wildest dreams. Something inside him had come loose, something raw and honest. When he had made love to Vini last night, free from their wedding bands, it was the most honest their bodies had been together. There had been no lies in the way he had kissed her and touched her, nothing had weighed on him when he had held her in his arms as he brought her to climax. So, no. “Last night was amazing.”

Vini stepped down from the stool and pressed her forehead against his back. “I’m sorry I can’t make this easier for you.”

Sungjin took her hands and wrapped her arms around his waist. “What are you talking about? You’re really trying too hard. Go get dressed. This is technically our first date.”

He watched her go up the loft to get her clothes before she headed into the bathroom. After the dishes were done, he got ready himself, choosing the clothes Vini got for him instead of the clothes he had brought with him. When she came down after fixing her hair and her face, Sungjin needed a moment to collect himself.

Vini came down in a pair of loose ripped jeans and one of his shirts. “I usually have a first date outfit, but you barely look at me these days so I figured what’s the point.” She was joking, but also she hadn’t been more wrong.

“I have been looking.” In fact it took all his willpower _not_ to keep looking at her in those clothes that made his mouth water for her skin.

She grabbed her bag and put her phone, wallet, and keys in. “I’m too lazy to drive so I hope you don’t mind if we just walk around.”

“I didn’t know you could drive.”

“Just because I can’t figure out the tractor doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing.”

He was going to quip that Brian was driving her everywhere anyway but decided against it. “I’m good with whatever. Let’s go.”


	22. Chapter 22

Vini took him around one of the gardens.

Because…why again?

In her head, she had a plan. Brunch. Museum. Walking tour of the city trail. Late lunch. Palace tour. Street food down the market place. Dinner and dessert. It was probably the best cliche she could ever come up with simply because she loved the idea of it. She liked the idea of pretending to be someone else for the day, it was a lot like writing but in this context she was living it. She wanted to live that fantasy with Sungjin.

Living her current truth, however, was not the reality she had hoped for. But Vini had prepared for this, had seen this coming, had known sooner rather than later it would come to this. Maybe that was why, despite the nebulous swirling in her gut, she found the courage to move forward.

“Hey, Sungjin.”

He turned to her with a raised brow. “You know when you ‘Hey, Sungjin’ me, I get really nervous all of a sudden.”

Even the smile on her face was genuine, if a little sad. “Hey, Sungjin.”

The sunlight was blinding, but she didn’t turn away from the way it shined behind him. Wasn’t that how it worked? If you hold something up against the sun, you could see right through it? “What is it?”

Vini dug the toe of her sneakers into the soft loamy earth as though she could grow roots and absorb the energy she needed to do what she was about to do. A few more steps forward and they would have made it deeper into the peony gardens and the imagery and the symbolism was not lost on her. Surrounded by nature like this, the sweltering heat of the afternoon sun, the humid air and the fresh breeze, the greens and the burst of pinks and purples, Vini could almost see them back at the vineyard. Almost, but not quite.

“You wanna do something crazy?”

He inclined his head at her and chuckled under his breath. “What are you talking about now?”

“I have, like two options for you. You get to choose.”

He nodded his head and pulled on his thinking face. “Go on. I’m listening.”

She gestured behind her. “Do you want to make out behind the bushes? You know I chose this spot because not a lot of people come through here.”

The stifled laugh almost broke his concentration but he kept his stoic mask on. “And my other option?”

Vini steeled her nerves. She knew what his answer would be, have known since last night, but what had to be done must be done. Stepping forward, she took his hand and thumbed the wedding band on his finger. Its partner caught the sun but she couldn’t bring herself to think that her ring sparkled in anticipation of what was to come.

“Sungjin Park.”

He narrowed his eyes at her.

“Did you know.” She tried, really, not to let her voice break. “That you make me so happy? I never thought I could be this happy. Or that being this happy was even possible. I don’t even care you called me a grapevine—and no I will be over that—if that means I’ll have to cling to you forever, then I’m your grapevine.

“Vini—”

“Shush! I’m not done. Sungjin, did you know…that City Hall is like…a good walk from here? It’s right there. So, you know, this lie that we’ve found ourselves in? We can make it a reality. Do you want to get married at City Hall right now? Because if you say yes, I’ll take you there right this very instant and marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Okay, disclaimer we’re not getting married, like, right now-right now because there’s paperwork to do before we even get a schedule but if you say yes we can get started right this instant. Because I love you, Sungjin. Do you want to get married?”

The air stilled as soon as the question left her lips. Vini’s heart pounded painfully in her chest, but she held her breath and exhaled slowly. The mask Sungjin had kept so well broke the instant their eyes met, and Vini tried her best to smile. Even though her cheeks hurt and her lips wavered, she kept the smile on her face.

“Vini…”

“Sungjin?”

“You can’t marry me.”

Knowing how this would end didn’t make it any easier and her caved into her chest, the hollowness of feeling sucking her outsides in and leaving her cold. She forced a humourless laugh from her lips and willed her tears not to fall. With a shaky breath, she laughed again even as the first teal spilled from her eyes.

“I can’t marry you? Says who? Says you?”

Frustrated, he ran his fingers through his hair. “And how would that work? Your life is here and my life is at the vineyard.”

The solution was so simple, but this man was just so stubborn he refused to see it. “And those are your only options, aren’t they? Either here or the vineyard.”

“It’s not about being here or there, it’s about your life and mine. This isn’t my life and the vineyard isn’t yours.”

“There’s no middle ground for you, is there?”

Sungjin averted his gaze and took a breath. Then he turned back to her, steel in his eyes. “Your life is here. The vineyard? That’s just a vacation for you. A…time for healing or whatever. Can you honestly tell me you can spend your life there?”

“It’s not about the vineyard, it’s about you and me. You’re telling me you can’t live here with me? Because I know you can’t. You think you can make this about you being the bigger person and hurting me so you can leave me in peace and fool yourself into thinking you have the higher moral ground but you don’t. This is me telling you can go if you want to. This is me telling you I’m letting you go because you’re always going to choose the vineyard because you can’t seem to get into that brain of yours that I love you and I will support you and be there for you and see you live out your dreams.

“I’m not asking you to live this life. I’m just asking you to love me.”

“Vini…” Sungjin breathed her name out, his raspy voice almost a caress. An apology. “Vini, I—”

“And not the kind of love that’s making you say you’re doing this for me and my own good because I am well capable of figuring out what’s good for myself and I am well capable of getting what I want on my own terms. I want to say we can talk about this but you’ve already made up your mind, haven’t you. You can say it. You don’t recognize the Vini you see. I can see it and I can feel it. I can feel you slipping away from me.”

“What we had was based on a lie. Based on you wanting to someone else for a while. The person everyone believed I was married to isn’t you, Vini. The person who played my wife at the vineyard? That wasn’t you. _This_ is who you are.”

“And you think you just get to say that?”

“I can tell the difference,” he said, “And you can’t use the vineyard as an excuse anymore. You can’t escape your life here. You have to face your demons. You have to live your own truths.”

“I love you, Sungjin,” she uttered softly. “Does that not really mean anything to you?”

He didn’t answer.

“Of course,” she scoffed. “What else did I expect from someone who, on the first day I met, said to me that love is just a lie we tell ourselves.”

He opened his arms to make a point. “How would this even work? Someone has to make a choice, and we both know neither of us will be truly happy with a compromise.”

Vini wanted to hurt him just because, but she couldn’t do even that. She loved him too much. “We haven’t even had that conversation yet. Don’t you think we deserve a chance, at least?”

“We’re having it right now. A chance. A conversation.”

“This isn’t it…”

“It is it, Vini.” He firmed his jaw. “This is it.”

Instinctively, Vini’s arms came around herself. Shame, both familiar and new washed over her. The shame of not being able to make him stay. “So this is goodbye.”

Sungjin came up to her and held out his hand. Vini refused to take it, but she saw in his eyes his intent and she couldn’t bear it. Her hand shook as she lifted it toward him. Slowly, carefully, Sungjin pulled the ring off her finger leaving her hand cold and bare to the elements.

And there it was. Everything she thought she had, taken away in an instant.

It was officially over now.

Just as she had known it would.

“You can go ahead,” she said, mustering enough ice in her words. “I’ll give you enough time to get your things and leave. You have to forgive me, I don’t think I can take you to the station. You’re going to have to figure that out on your own.”

“Goodbye, Vini,” he said. Then he turned his back and walked away.

Her heart twisted in her chest and she swiped away at her tears. She promised she wouldn’t call Brian on his personal days, but he was the closest to a real friend she’s got. Her fingers were numb and refused to follow her commands, but somehow she managed to dial his number and press her phone against her ear.

Brian answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

“Brian?”

“Vini? What’s wrong? What happened?”

She sobbed into the phone. “I’m sorry, I know I promised—”

“Just tell me what happened. It’s okay. You’re okay. This is fine.”

Vini held her hand over her mouth to keep herself from crying out loud. She took one deep breath after the other. “I just really need a friend right now.”

Brian chuckled lightly into the phone. “Good, because that’s all I can really offer you right now, you know? You’ve really lost your chance with me these past few months.”

Despite herself, Vini laughed through her tears. “I did say I regret you everyday. I’m sorry, I hope you’re not—”

“I’m not what? Lying alone in my bed eating because I just woke up? Nah. Where are you? I’ll come get you.”

She hiccuped. “I’ll meet you at that snack tent we used to go to a lot back when we couldn’t afford anything else.”

“Ah, the memories are all coming back to me. Are you gonna be okay until you get there?”

Vini nodded. Then remembered he couldn’t see her through the phone. “Yes, I’ll be okay.”

“Okay,” Brian said. “Vini?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.”


	23. Chapter 23

If he had told her he loved her, he wouldn’t have been able to walk away.

Sungjin braced his hands against the edge of the desk and hung his head low. Another man might have offered her something more from within himself, a warmth of emotions, his heart, his dreams. But Sungjin had nothing else he could offer, and his last bargaining chip was void and moot anyway. Vini never needed the vineyard for anything else but escape, and he needed it to live. But he couldn’t stay here any longer. Everywhere he looked, he saw traces of the woman who had been his wife. The woman he wanted as his wife. It was too late for regrets.

Baba whined at his feet.

“I know,” Sungjin agreed, “I’ll hurry up.”

The door to his side of the old house swung open and Sungjin didn’t need to look; he’d heard Wonpil and Dowoon talking to themselves as the door opened. They planted themselves right next to him, set in a way he knew they can’t be moved. Sungjin turned his head just enough to acknowledge their presence.

“Sungjin.” Wonpil shook his head disapprovingly at him. “What did you do?”

“What I should have done years ago.”

“Kneel in front of all the oldies and confess your sins?” Dowoon supplied, unhelpfully.

He’d done that. As the town meeting was coming to and end, he had gathered the important people in his life, the elders who had taken him in, fed him, and trusted him. He had knelt down in front of them and asked for forgiveness for the lie he had allowed to persist through the years. Once he was done stating his piece, he had left without waiting for them to respond. What was the point? He knew what was coming anyway. But at least from now on, he didn’t have to live with the burden of his guilt.

“What do you want?” he said, pushing himself off the table to continue packing.

“You’re leaving?” Wonpil asked. “That’s typical. You left after Sarang rejected your proposal, too. But why do I have a feeling this one’s different.”

Sungjin didn’t have a satisfying enough answer. “What else am I supposed to do? I can’t stay here. What’s the point?”

“Boss,” Dowoon asked, “What’s gonna happen to the vineyard?”

Sungjin stopped short, his hands paused between his pile of clothes and his camping backpack. “You know what to do here. I’ll figure it all out after I clear my head a bit.”

“And how long is that going to take this time?” Wonpil asked, not bothering to mask the accusatory tone in his voice.

“As long as it takes,” Sungjin sighed. “However long that may be.”

“Uhm.” Dowoon raised his hand. “What are you running from this time?”

Sungjin raised his hand to imply the vineyard. Everything. Himself.

“Ah,” Dowoon answered, still confused. “Because it looks like you’re kinda maybe running from Miss Vini?”

Wonpil pursed his lips. “What happened over there?”

“Reality happened,” Sungjin said, resuming his packing. “What kind of life would Vini have here if I asked her to come home with me? She doesn’t deserve this. With everything she already has over there? I’ll be damning her to hell here.”

Wonpil shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is that what she said? That this isn’t what she deserves? Because you don’t get to decide that. Did you go off with some speech that you won’t be able to give her the life you think she wants and deserves? Because Vini doesn’t need you to give her a life. She already did that for herself. You don’t even have to provide for her. She can do that for herself, too. You’re lucky she even wants your ass in her life.”

Sungjin ran his hand over his face. “And what kind of life would we even have?”

“Uhm,” Wonpil glared at him. “The kind of life you’ve already been living? Does that life not appeal to you?”

“That life was a lie and you know it.”

Wonpil raised his eyes to the ceiling and muttered under his breath. Out loud, he said, “Which part of the making out behind the aubergines was a lie? Which part of everyday for the past six months was a lie? The part where everyone accepted Vini as your wife? That was a lie but the Vini who was here, the Vini that was with you, who tolerated you and somehow fell in love with you can’t have all been a lie.”

Dowoon nodded sagely. “It’s like saying you only like that Vini, Boss.”

“And for the record,” Wonpil added, intonation rising as he spoke. “Vini spent six months here. With you. She suffered living everyday of her life with you. She worked the vineyard, she took Mrs. Ok and Mrs. Choi’s unsolicited wifely lessons, and she took Mrs. Shim’s judgement. You think that’s easy for her?”

Dowoon pressed his lips in a tight line. “Miss Vini cried a lot that first month she was here.”

Sungjin’s eyes snapped toward Dowoon.

“Ah,” Dowoon scratched the back of his head. “Boss, I thought you knew? She used to hide behind the watermelon patch. I told her it’s a bad place to hide. She cried when the pigs chased her, too. And the chickens. But she got so much better.”

“You couldn’t even last six days in her world.” Wonpil’s words were a rebuke. “I doubt you had to even do anything nearly as traumatic as what you made her do here.”

Sungjin squeezed his eyes shut. All he wanted was to protect her from all this. From him. Because when he looked inside himself, all he could see was dust and gravel. “She didn’t ask me to live her life.”

Wonpil gave him a look that said _I told you so_. “I really want to support you, as my friend. I know you have your reasons. And as your friend, I really have to accept this. Are you sure this is what’s best?”

Sungjin shrugged. “She said I didn’t have to live her life. I’m not asking you to live this life. I’m just asking you to love me. That’s what she said.”

Wonpil palmed his face so hard, Sungjin heard the impact from where he stood.

“Boss…” Dowoon trailed off. “Really…for a guy with a PhD…you’re really clueless sometimes, you know?”

Wonpil massaged his temples. “Do you love her?”

Sungjin sank into his work chair. “Isn’t that what I’m doing all this?”

All this—build her a bath and a toilet, make her breakfast, allow her into his quiet spaces, teach her everything he knew about grapes and grapevines.

“Answer the damn question,” Wonpil pressed, “Yes or no. Do you love Vini?”

“Yes.”

Dowoon sighed far too loudly than Sungjin thought was necessary. “Boss, really. You…Miss Vini said she loves you? What am I saying, everyone knows she loves you. Everyone. Baba knows. Even the little kids know. Even Mr. Lee knows, and he can’t even see through his cataracts anymore. Even the grapes know. The grapevines are jealous because you love her more.”

Sungjin dropped his head into his hands.

“I know you think you’re doing the right thing here,” Wonpil began, “But you’re just being a coward because instead of fighting for her you’re giving up and deceiving yourself under the guise that you’re doing all this for her. You’re saying you’re giving her control, but Vini already made her decision. And she’s given you so many reasons to stay. If you want the girl, _you _have to give her a reason to stay.

“You already got the girl. You get the girl, you keep the girl. I’m charging your that one.”

Dowoon was nodding at everything Wonpil was saying. “Boss…I’m gonna go get the truck.”

Wonpil huffed. “I’m so angry at you. Now get up and fix your face because you’re going to make this right.”

Sungjin stood on unsteady feet. “Dowoon, I’ll need a crate of grapes. The special ones.”

  
There was a major flaw in their plan, but Sungjin figured he would simply cross that bridge when he got there. His heart ached. Every part of him seemed to ache from wanting—needing—to let Vini know that he loved her. That whatever life she wanted, he was ready to live for her. He had been ready then, but the fear had gripped him and held him hostage.

But this much was true: Sungjin loved Vini so much, his heart was about to burst.

“Where are we going again?” Dowoon asked.

Wonpil was too angry to drive and neither of them trusted Sungjin to drive, so Dowoon took on the responsibility. So now they were driving through a part of the city Sungjin never knew existed until today. The gala was today. Sungjin was supposed to come with Vini as her plus one—she had done everything to assure him it would be painless. That she would make it as painless as possible.

“Let me call Ayeon,” Wonpil said.

“Why are you calling Ayeon?” Sungjin asked.

Wonpil ignored him. “Hello? I’m so sorry to bother you, but it’s important.”

As Wonpil and Ayeon spoke on the phone, all Sungjin could think of was how they had come about to the level of phone calls from out of the blue. And why Ayeon? What did she have to do with anything? But Sungjin knew better than to voice out his concerns because for the first time in their entire history of knowing each other, he knew better than to cross Wonpil.

They drove into a busy street, the rusty red truck a stark contrast to the luxury vehicles in traffic. “Okay, but now we really need a plan,” Sungjin said.

“We’re getting valet,” Wonpil announced. “At the hotel. Right there. Dowoon, go.”

Sungjin wasn’t sure how they pulled it off, or if Wonpil’s angry eyes had everyone from security to the valet staff succumbing to submission, but they were walking through the hotel lobby and headed straight for the elevators that lead to the rooftop garden and greenhouse. Sungjin didn’t have time to feel conscious about the fact he was carrying a crate grapes and looking every bit the vineyard man he was. He just needed to see Vini.

The three of them rode the elevator up to the designated floor and as soon as they stepped out, they found Hyerim waiting for them.

“Finally?” She called them over to a side entrance to the main deck. “We have to wait a bit, security is not easy to get through.”

Sungjin could already feel the eyes of several of the personnel on them. They stuck out in the worst ways, and time was running out. “Thank you?” he said. “For doing this.”

Hyerim laughed. “You let us stay in your house, it’s the least I could do.”

A minute later, Brian came out the door. “Well, it’s about time?” He glanced down at the crate of grapes. “By the way, you need to bribe me first before you get in.”

“These are for Vini,” Sungjin stated, belatedly realising the death sentence he just imposed on himself.

Brian just laughed and picked a handful of grapes and pocketed them. “This is going to be interesting. Follow me.”

Jae and Ayeon met with them inside, both of them in formal wear Sungjin almost didn’t recognize them. With Jae and Ayeon with them, almost no one bothered them. The deck area was dressed as a garden party, with ferns and orchids, and various potted flowers as table centerpieces. Around them, society’s elite exchanged the niceties of their sort, oblivious to Sungjin and his people.

Jae, though.

And Ayeon.

Jimin, too, when she came to join them.

Park & Park & Baek Foundation.

Everyone seemed to be talking over each other for Sungjin to ease a word in, but it didn’t matter at the moment. He had other priorities to focus on. He had no idea where they were leading him, but he trusted them. Much to his chagrin, he trusted them.

So when he was pushed into the greenhouse, he could only keep himself from falling over.

Vini stood at the middle of the room, shocked to see him. Her glance flit toward the glass panels, where Brian popped a grape into his mouth and grinned before disappearing .

“Took you long enough,” Vini said, “But I’m still mad at you.”

“I deserve that,” Sungjin answered, heart swelling at the sight of her. “I was wrong.”

“You were.”

“I was scared.”

“I am too!”

He was still scared, but Vini was more important than that fear. He lifted the crate of grapes weakly, knowing it cold never be enough. But he could be enough. Sungjin’s love could be enough. “I brought these for you.”

“Sungjin…”

“I know we have so much to talk about. I’m sorry. I’ll keep making it up to you for the rest of our lives.”

“For the rest of our lives?”

Sungjin didn’t allow himself the feeling of complacency at the hopeful tone of Vini’s voice. She shouldn’t forgive him too easily anyway. There was so much he had to make up for. “We could start with today first.”

Vini spread her arms by her sides. “I’ve already shown you all my cards, Sungjin. I’ve got nothing else.”

Vaguely, he was aware of the flash of lights and the sudden crowd around them. “You are my home, Vini. Whether it’s here or at the vineyard, I want to be where you are. It doesn’t matter. We’ll make it work.”

“I would never make you give up the vineyard,” she sighed.

“I thought the vineyard was my dream—I planned my entire life around the vineyard, but all my plans are changing because of you. You’re the only grapevine that matters to me.”

Vini scowled at that last bit.

“You’re my grapevine, Vini. People are a lot like plants, but you’re more like a grapevine. More than sun and soil and water, you need time and attention and dedication. I am more than willing to provide all that for you. Grow your roots in me and I’ll take care of you. But that’s not entirely true. I need you, too. Because you’ve planted seeds in my heart, where I thought there was only dust and stone, and somehow you’ve made an entire vineyard grow there. You’ve taught me how to love and what it means to be loved.

“So I’m asking you, if my time and my attention, and all my love is enough for you— my love is more than enough and if that’s enough for you, I would like to come home to you. I love you, Vini.”

She carefully wiped away the moisture at her eyes. “That’s why you called me a grapevine?”

“I’m a grape farmer.” He shrugged. “I thought it would have been obvious. These are for you.”

Vini laughed. “Can you put that down for a moment so you can come here and kiss me?”

Someone took the crate from his hands, and Sungjin strode forward and captured Vini in his arms. “I really love this color on you.”

Vini’s dress, a smooth satin that draped down her arms and down to her knees, was the perfect shade of violet. She slid her arms around his neck. “You say that because I look like a grape.”

“Maybe.” He dipped his head and pressed his brow against hers before he gave her a slow, sweet kiss that tasted better than any grape. “I like you better,” he said, barely above a whisper.

“I would hope so,” she whispered back, looking deep into his eyes. “You did pretend to be married to me. Thank you for coming back to me.”

“I’m here, my darling.” He nudged her nose with his. “I’ve come home to you.”


	24. Chapter 24

_One year later_

Eventually, the village elders would force a wedding upon them citing old age to guilt them into a ceremony too soon than they would have gone for. Everyone else seemed to have just accepted it, Vini wondered if Sungjin’s proposal was even worth anything now. Not that she would have said no.

They lay together at the watchtower, late into the evening, watching the fireflies dance in the summer air. This year’s harvest was a record breaker for the decade Sungjin had been working the vineyard, and even though neither of them acknowledged it, maybe JYP was on to something when he talked about lovers in the vineyard.

“We could just elope,” Sungjin suggested, curling his arm around her and pulling her on top of his chest.

“And give the oldies a heart attack? All of them at the same time?”

Sungjin didn’t even flinch. “You know what they’re going to do, don’t you? JYP will probably officiate the ceremony and all the aunties and uncles will have a say on this and that, you’d think they’re the ones getting married.”

“That’s what you get for lying to them for years.”

It didn’t take much for Sungjin to be forgiven. All he’d had to do was bring Vini back home and take a few scoldings before he was chastised into admitting to the whole senior citizen’s association that he loved her and fully intended to marry her. They needed time, of course. And time they had. They split the year between here and there, Sungjin built Vini an office and Vini got him a new pickup truck. When she wasn’t writing, Vini helped out at the vineyard. When she was supposed to be writing, Sungjin exiled her back to her office. When Vini was on a book tour, Sungjin went with her when he could, and stayed behind when he couldn’t. Somehow, they made it work it didn’t even feel like work.

“They’re going to make you learn all the family recipes.”

Vini rolled her eyes. “Why are you scaring me? I’m not scared. Are you scared?”

“I’m trying to make up for the hard time I gave you when you were here.”

She nuzzled her cheek against his chest. Sungjin had been atoning for all his perceived sins for far too long, all she wanted was for him to forgive himself. But some thing took time, and Vini was patient. “And you will when we go back to the city next week for my meetings and castings and all the things. Brian says he’s taking you to this buffet somewhere. The last time you guys did that, Jae had to take you home. And then you suffered indigestion. And then—”

“It was a really good buffet.”

They had managed to complete her most cliche fantasies, too. As well as take a vacation over the winter. He had visited her parents, and she had visited his parents and paid her respects. Every once in a while, Jae would gather them all for a house party and they would talk and talk until deep into the dawn. Vini couldn’t have counted on any of this happening, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

He kissed the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you.”

“You haven’t seen me do anything yet so what are talking about?”

He rolled her over and kissed her, the gentle caresses of his hand up and down her arm sending ripples of comfort all over her body. “I just am. You’ve been through a lot and here you are still.”

She brushed the hair off his face. “And so have you. You are simply wonderful, Sungjin. I’ll keep believing that for the both of us until you believe it, too.”

He kissed her hand, kissed her engagement ring—a simple band with an inlaid amethyst, then gathered her in his arms and held her close. As they looked out into the blazing galaxy beyond the watchtower, Vini took Sungjin’s hands and laced them together. She had never felt more at peace than when they were lying together like this.

“Hey, Sungjin.” She shifted around to face him. “Do you want to do something crazy?”

Sungjin sighed a sigh so deep, Vini laughed into his chest. “Not here.”

“You don’t know what I was going to say.”

The look he gave her was one of mock censure, and thus ineffective. Not that he’d been very effective at it. Sungjin was just a big softie and the more he denied it, the more Vini was inclined to think he was far softer than he let on. “We’re not having sex here. We’re in the watchtower.”

“Okay, so you did know what I was going to say. Why not?”

“We’re just not.”

“No one else is here!”

But Sungjin was not easily convinced. Even when she snuggled up against him and started nibbling at the underside of his jaw. “Someone can be walking the vineyard at night,” he said. “Or there could be ghosts. Mosquitoes. Spiders. Crickets. Cicadas.”

“That’s your concern?”

“People die from insect bites, you know.”

“I’ve already been bitten so many times, I’m still alive and kicking.”

“And I’d like to keep you that way. Also where? When? I’m going to hunt down every single insect here.”

Vini collapsed into his tickling, burrowing herself further and deeper into his embrace, savouring the closeness. “Oh, come on. Even if I say please?”

He pulled away long enough to make a point. “We eat here.”

“Really? That’s where you draw the line?”

He laughed into the kiss. “We can just go home.”

“But I really like it here.”

“I’ll carry you.”

“And sing?”

“And sing.”

They held each other for long moments, not speaking, just breathing. They breathed the night air together, until their breaths came in sync and their hearts beat so slow and so quiet, there was nothing else left but their togetherness.

“I love you,” Vini said. “My husband to be.”

“I love you, my darling wife to be.”

Vini clung to him like the grapevine that she was, unable to stop the overwhelming emotion that rushed through her. And then Sungjin swept her into his arms and took her home where he laid her on their bed and made love to her. Laughter gave into sighs and then laughter again as he kept warm through the night in so many ways.

And there was nothing more beautiful than the way they lovingly curved around each other.

**Author's Note:**

> twt/cc @d6dreams


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